Claiming the Nobel Prize
Next, Shen Qi euthanized another healthy mouse by dislocating its cervical sac; this mouse would serve as a control sample for comparison with the poisoned mice.
The spleen of the control mouse was removed; this organ is very small, and Shen Qi had to be extremely careful.
Practice makes perfect. Shen Qi weighed the spleens of the immunized mice and control mice and placed them in a culture dish containing cold Hanks' solution. He then used a pipette to blow out the heat and disperse the cells evenly.
The spleen is the largest immune organ in the body, both in humans and mice.
Shen Qi filtered the mouse spleen cell suspension through a 100-mesh stainless steel mesh, centrifuged it to remove the supernatant, and then began cell counting.
Lymphocyte fluid extracted from mouse spleens is similar to human lymph, being colorless and transparent.
Because of the addition of agar, Hanks solution, and DEAE glucose solution, the spleen lymphocyte fluid of the white rat in front of Shen Qi was red, similar to the color of orange juice with pulp.
After the mixture has solidified uniformly, let it stand for 15 minutes, and then place it in a 37-degree Celsius temperature bath for 1 hour.
After the sample was removed, Shen Qi observed the results and placed the petri dish under a stereo microscope to count the number of empty spots.
Each plaque represents an antibody-forming cell, and the number of plaques reflects the body's humoral immune function.
Shen Qi discovered that the experimental mice had more plaques than the control mice. He recorded the data and repeated the experiment, and within a few days, all 10 mice were consumed.
There were 10 rats left. Shen Qi left them alone for the time being. He told Yang Ding Tian to take good care of the rats and to report to the school according to procedure, saying that our center was conducting routine animal experiments for scientific research purposes.
After arranging everything, Shen Qi flew to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, in early December.
On December 10th, the Stockholm Concert Hall welcomed many prominent figures from Sweden's upper class, including members of the Swedish royal family, high-ranking political officials, business tycoons, and cultural luminaries.
The King of Sweden, the Prime Minister, the richest man in Sweden, and popular singers all came; the scene was even more grand than Sweden's National Day.
Nobel was a highly renowned scientist and a shrewd businessman. He held over 300 patents and owned more than 100 companies and factories in over 20 countries around the world, accumulating a vast fortune.
Nobel never married and had no children. He donated most of his wealth to establish the Nobel Foundation, which shocked the Swedish royal family at the time: this chemist was richer than the king!
Since the first Nobel Prize in 1901, the King of Sweden has personally awarded the Nobel Prize to commemorate Nobel, a scientist whose wealth rivaled that of a nation, a tradition that continues to this day.
Shen Qi had met with the King of Sweden and exchanged a few words with him before the Nobel Prize award ceremony.
The king was quite unassuming and approachable. The old man wore glasses and had completely white hair, making him look more like an old professor.
The stage of the Stockholm Concert Hall was adorned with flowers and fluttering flags. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra opened the Nobel Prize ceremony with a performance of "Music of Dorotningheim Palace".
The chairman of the Nobel Foundation then delivered a welcome speech, followed by a presentation from a representative of each award committee on the background and achievements of the laureates.
The laureates walked one by one to the center of the stage to receive their Nobel Prize certificates and gold medals from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Each prize is worth 9 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to 7 million RMB. If there are multiple winners of a prize, they will share the prize money equally.
Shen Qi and two physics professors from Cambridge University shared the 9 million Swedish kronor Physics Prize.
Similar to previous years, scientists from American and British universities almost swept the science prizes this year.
Shen Qi is the only scientist from an Asian university, and he has difficulty completely severing ties with the American academic community; he still holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Princeton.
Harvard University has the most Nobel laureates in the world, followed by Princeton, which ranks tenth.
Of the universities ranked second to ninth, apart from Cambridge University and Oxford, which are both British universities, the rest are all American universities.
This is also the pattern in the scientific community; at the top are always those dozen or so well-known universities in Europe and America.
After the awards ceremony, the guests moved to Stockholm City Hall for a grand banquet.
This time, the table was truly filled with Nobel laureates. Shen Qi's table was full of Nobel laureates of various kinds. The table was a long table, so everyone ate and drank their fill first, and there would be a dance later.
Canadian author Margaret Atwood, in her eighties, is a literary award winner. She is in relatively good health, wears dentures, eats some salad, and can drink a couple of sips of white wine.
"Young man, you are remarkable. You've set a new record for the youngest Nobel Prize." The elderly lady who won the literature prize praised Shen Qi highly.
"My dear Margaret, I was actually really looking forward to setting this record, but unfortunately, it wasn't me who set it." Shen Qi raised his glass and toasted the female writer.
Shen Qi won the Nobel Prize in Physics at the age of 27. The youngest laureate in history was Shen Qi Bragg.
Lawrence Bragg was born in Australia and later moved to England with his father, the renowned physicist Lawrence Bragg, where he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge University.
In 1915, the father-son duo of George Bragg Jr. and George Bragg Sr. jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
The award was given for the father and son's discovery of Bragg's Law for X-ray diffraction, a classic law that was later included in University Physics textbooks.
George Bragg was only 25 years old when he won the Nobel Prize, and his record as the youngest recipient remains unbroken.
In the scientific community, sometimes family connections matter. It's understandable that the renowned scholar George Bragg was willing to bring his son along to win the Nobel Prize.
It's really hard to break the record. Shen Qi entered the Physics Community too late, and his influence is too limited. He will never be able to break the record held by Little Bragg in his lifetime.
"Regardless, so far, only Lawrence Bragg and you have won the Nobel Prize under the age of 30. Qi, you are a magic key." Yannis Stega, a French physicist in his fifties, works at Cambridge University in England. He and one of his colleagues shared this year's Nobel Prize in Physics with Shen Qi.
This table is full of Nobel laureates, but only one Fields Medal winner Shen Qi.
Shen Qi is quite popular. He has a special background, having won the Nobel Fields Medal in his twenties, and everyone enjoys chatting with him.
"Professor Stega, I've read your article, it's fantastic! Cheers to physics!" Shen Qi raised his glass to the French physicist working in England.
"Hey Qi, I've been to Princeton many times, but it seems like it's hard to see you." George Brown, one of this year's Nobel Prize laureates in Medicine, is from Harvard University. He chatted with Shen Qi; they were both allies of the Ivy League and were very familiar with each other.
"George, as far as I know, Princeton does not have School of Medicine." Shen Qi connected with Professor Brown, an American medical expert who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research on immune mechanisms.
"The woman I love most is at Princeton," Professor Brown said, both happy and conflicted. He added that he is currently single.
Actually, it's quite normal for people in their forties not to be married in the US. Shen Qi asked with concern, "Which department is she in at Princeton? Does she need my help, George?"
Professor Brown raised a glass to Shen Qi: "She works in the Princeton Mathematics Department and is the most beautiful woman in the world."
There aren't many female staff members in the Princeton Mathematics Department, and Shen Qi quickly learned the truth after a few casual questions. "It's her?"
Professor Brown said that she is who she is, and if he can't marry her, then he will marry science in this lifetime.
This was a very international occasion. Shen Qi engaged in lively discussions with experts, scholars, writers, artists, economists, and politicians from various countries, exchanged business cards, and made many new friends.
When Shen Qi got married last year, he invited two Chinese Nobel laureates.
It's understandable; last year, Shen Qi didn't do too well in fields outside of mathematics.
If Shen Qi gets married this year, he might actually invite a whole table of Nobel laureates, of all kinds.
Remarriage is impossible; Shen Qi's wife is already pregnant and will give birth next year.
Shen Qi sent some photos and videos of himself with 10 Nobel laureates to Ou Ye, telling his wife to focus on her pregnancy and to enjoy watching the group photos and videos of the Nobel laureates' activities.