这是当代电脑传奇人物苹果之父乔布斯在给斯坦福学生讲演时说的。乔布斯是死里逃生的人,谈论死亡坦然、率直,意在强调生命短促,指引青年人只争朝夕。 “Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.” 换成我们熟知的说法就是,长江后浪推前浪,前浪死在沙滩上。死亡是生命的必然归宿,也是大自然(or 上帝)除旧布新的最终手段。不管一个人怎样与时俱进,记忆的负载和传统的负担必然使得他最终成为守旧派,成为创新的障碍物。因此,乔布斯告诫学生要只争朝夕,承担起历史赋予的机会和使命,在自己被无情的时间淘汰之前有所成就。 乔布斯是世界上技术创新最牛的公司苹果的灵魂人物,上次乔布斯胰腺癌住院手术,苹果公司股价应声而跌,而当他换肾成功重返苹果的时候,苹果股价也迅速飙升。前几天,他因病又离岗住院,又一次引起股市和媒体的震荡。我们祈祷他再一次战胜疾病,早日康复,虽然死亡是生命的必然归宿,他还没老,他不应该走,这个世界失去他和他带来的精彩会黯然失色。我们祈祷! 乔布斯的演说才能是超一流的。他讲演用词简洁利索,口语一样的短句,一句接一句,谈新陈代谢的必然性,非常有力:同学们现在是新生一代,但是总有一天 - 而这一天并不遥远,你们也会成为老朽,面临必然被淘汰的命运。虽然这话不中听,它却是大实话。生命有限,请珍惜时光,不要因循守旧,而要随自己内心而行。 “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” 乔布斯的这个讲演谈了三个故事,三个主题,都很精彩,值得强力推荐:(1)人生道路的奇妙,好似上帝安排的一样(讲述他注定大学不能毕业的故事:他是非婚生,做研究生的生母决定生下他即送给一个律师家庭收养,可是律师临时改变主意,不要男孩,生母只好把他给了另一家劳动阶级。得知养父母都没上过大学,生母拒绝在收养书上签字,最后在得到养父母保证培养孩子上大学以后才勉强同意。可是乔布斯终于辍学,不忍使用养父母一生的积蓄缴大学学费,这反而促成了他早期的电脑创业);(2)爱和失落:人生大起大伏里面的禅机(讲述他20岁创立苹果公司,30岁Macintosh空前成功,以及随后被苹果董事会逐出苹果跌入人间炼狱,而这次跌倒为他后来回归苹果再创奇迹,带领苹果繁荣壮大、最终超越微软帝国做了必要的准备,这真是一个奇妙的人生故事);(3)死亡的意义:人生短促,时不我待,不可虚度。 讲演的结句很有意思:Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. 保持饥饿状态(不能丧失求知欲和好奇心),保持愚鲁(大智若愚,不投机取巧,不学圆滑精明,象我们当年的口号那样:做一个革命的傻子)。他所引用的这句箴言妙语真应该成为浮躁时代的青年人的座右铭。 有人翻译了这篇演讲,虽然有瑕疵,也可以将就了: http://doc.linuxpk.com/5804.html I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. 我今天很荣幸能和你们一起参加毕业典礼,斯坦福大学是世界上最好的大学之一。我从来没有从大学中毕业。说实话,今天也许是在我的生命中离大学毕业最近的一天了。今天我想向你们讲述我生活中的三个故事。不是什么大不了的事情,只是三个故事而已。 The first story is about connecting the dots. 第一个故事是关于如何把生命中的点点滴滴串连起来。 I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? 我在Reed大学读了六个月之后就退学了,但是在十八个月以后——我真正的作出退学决定之前,我还经常去学校。我为什么要退学呢? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. 故事从我出生的时候讲起。我的亲生母亲是一个年轻的,没有结婚的大学毕业生。她决定让别人收养我, 她十分想让我被大学毕业生收养。所以在我出生的时候,她已经做好了一切的准备工作,能使得我被一个律师和他的妻子所收养。但是她没有料到,当我出生之后,律师夫妇突然决定他们想要一个女孩。 所以我的生养父母(他们还在我亲生父母的观察名单上)突然在半夜接到了一个电话:“我们现在这儿有一个不小心生出来的男婴,你们想要他吗?”他们回答道:“当然!”但是我亲生母亲随后发现,我的养母从来没有上过大学,我的父亲甚至从没有读过高中。她拒绝签这个收养合同。只是在几个月以后,我的父母答应她一定要让我上大学,那个时候她才同意。 And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. 在十七岁那年,我真的上了大学。但是我很愚蠢的选择了一个几乎和你们斯坦福大学一样贵的学校, 我父母还处于蓝领阶层,他们几乎把所有积蓄都花在了我的学费上面。在六个月后, 我已经看不到其中的价值所在。我不知道我想要在生命中做什么,我也不知道大学能帮助我找到怎样的答案。 但是在这里,我几乎花光了我父母这一辈子的所有积蓄。所以我决定要退学,我觉得这是个正确的决定。不能否认,我当时确实非常的害怕, 但是现在回头看看,那的确是我这一生中最棒的一个决定。在我做出退学决定的那一刻, 我终于可以不必去读那些令我提不起丝毫兴趣的课程了。然后我还可以去修那些看起来有点意思的课程。 It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5#162; deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: 但是这并不是那么罗曼蒂克。我失去了我的宿舍,所以我只能在朋友房间的地板上面睡觉,我去捡5美分的可乐瓶子,仅仅为了填饱肚子, 在星期天的晚上,我需要走七英里的路程,穿过这个城市到Hare Krishna寺庙(注:位于纽约Brooklyn下城),只是为了能吃上饭——这个星期唯一一顿好一点的饭。但是我喜欢这样。我跟着我的直觉和好奇心走, 遇到的很多东西,此后被证明是无价之宝。让我给你们举一个例子吧: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. Reed大学在那时提供也许是全美最好的美术字课程。在这个大学里面的每个海报, 每个抽屉的标签上面全都是漂亮的美术字。因为我退学了, 没有受到正规的训练, 所以我决定去参加这个课程,去学学怎样写出漂亮的美术字。我学到了san serif 和serif字体, 我学会了怎么样在不同的字母组合之中改变空格的长度, 还有怎么样才能作出最棒的印刷式样。那是一种科学永远不能捕捉到的、美丽的、真实的艺术精妙, 我发现那实在是太美妙了。 None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. 当时看起来这些东西在我的生命中,好像都没有什么实际应用的可能。但是十年之后,当我们在设计第一台Macintosh电脑的时候,就不是那样了。我把当时我学的那些家伙全都设计进了Mac。那是第一台使用了漂亮的印刷字体的电脑。如果我当时没有退学, 就不会有机会去参加这个我感兴趣的美术字课程, Mac就不会有这么多丰富的字体,以及赏心悦目的字体间距。那么现在个人电脑就不会有现在这么美妙的字型了。当然我在大学的时候,还不可能把从前的点点滴滴串连起来,但是当我十年后回顾这一切的时候,真的豁然开朗了。 Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. 再次说明的是,你在向前展望的时候不可能将这些片断串连起来;你只能在回顾的时候将点点滴滴串连起来。所以你必须相信这些片断会在你未来的某一天串连起来。你必须要相信某些东西:你的勇气、目的、生命、因缘。这个过程从来没有令我失望(let me down),只是让我的生命更加地与众不同而已。 My second story is about love and loss. 我的第二个故事是关于爱和损失的。 I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. 我非常幸运, 因为我在很早的时候就找到了我钟爱的东西。Woz和我在二十岁的时候就在父母的车库里面开创了苹果公司。我们工作得很努力, 十年之后, 这个公司从那两个车库中的穷光蛋发展到了超过四千名的雇员、价值超过二十亿的大公司。在公司成立的第九年,我们刚刚发布了最好的产品,那就是Macintosh。我也快要到三十岁了。在那一年, 我被炒了鱿鱼。你怎么可能被你自己创立的公司炒了鱿鱼呢? 嗯,在苹果快速成长的时候,我们雇用了一个很有天分的家伙和我一起管理这个公司, 在最初的几年,公司运转的很好。但是后来我们对未来的看法发生了分歧, 最终我们吵了起来。当争吵不可开交的时候, 董事会站在了他的那一边。所以在三十岁的时候, 我被炒了。在这么多人的眼皮下我被炒了。在而立之年,我生命的全部支柱离自己远去, 这真是毁灭性的打击。 I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. 在最初的几个月里,我真是不知道该做些什么。我把从前的创业激情给丢了, 我觉得自己让与我一同创业的人都很沮丧。我和David Pack和Bob Boyce见面,并试图向他们道歉。我把事情弄得糟糕透顶了。但是我渐渐发现了曙光, 我仍然喜爱我从事的这些东西。苹果公司发生的这些事情丝毫的没有改变这些, 一点也没有。我被驱逐了,但是我仍然钟爱它。所以我决定从头再来。 I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. 我当时没有觉察, 但是事后证明, 从苹果公司被炒是我这辈子发生的最棒的事情。因为,作为一个成功者的极乐感觉被作为一个创业者的轻松感觉所重新代替: 对任何事情都不那么特别看重。这让我觉得如此自由, 进入了我生命中最有创造力的一个阶段。 During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. 在接下来的五年里, 我创立了一个名叫NeXT的公司, 还有一个叫Pixar的公司, 然后和一个后来成为我妻子的优雅女人相识。Pixar 制作了世界上第一个用电脑制作的动画电影——“”玩具总动员”,Pixar现在也是世界上最成功的电脑制作工作室。在后来的一系列运转中,Apple收购了NeXT, 然后我又回到了Apple公司。我们在NeXT发展的技术在Apple的复兴之中发挥了关键的作用。我还和Laurence 一起建立了一个幸福的家庭。 I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. 我可以非常肯定,如果我不被Apple开除的话, 这其中一件事情也不会发生的。这个良药的味道实在是太苦了,但是我想病人需要这个药。有些时候, 生活会拿起一块砖头向你的脑袋上猛拍一下。不要失去信心。我很清楚唯一使我一直走下去的,就是我做的事情令我无比钟爱。你需要去找到你所爱的东西。对于工作是如此, 对于你的爱人也是如此。你的工作将会占据生活中很大的一部分。你只有相信自己所做的是伟大的工作, 你才能怡然自得。如果你现在还没有找到, 那么继续找、不要停下来、全心全意的去找, 当你找到的时候你就会知道的。就像任何真诚的关系, 随着岁月的流逝只会越来越紧密。所以继续找,直到你找到它,不要停下来! My third story is about death. 我的第三个故事是关于死亡的。 When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. 当我十七岁的时候, 我读到了一句话:“如果你把每一天都当作生命中最后一天去生活的话,那么有一天你会发现你是正确的。”这句话给我留下了深刻的印象。从那时开始,过了33年,我在每天早晨都会对着镜子问自己:“如果今天是我生命中的最后一天, 你会不会完成你今天想做的事情呢?”当答案连续很多次被给予“不是”的时候, 我知道自己需要改变某些事情了。 Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. “记住你即将死去”是我一生中遇到的最重要箴言。它帮我指明了生命中重要的选择。因为几乎所有的事情, 包括所有的荣誉、所有的骄傲、所有对难堪和失败的恐惧,这些在死亡面前都会消失。我看到的是留下的真正重要的东西。你有时候会思考你将会失去某些东西,“记住你即将死去”是我知道的避免这些想法的最好办法。你已经赤身裸体了, 你没有理由不去跟随自己的心一起跳动。 About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. 大概一年以前, 我被诊断出癌症。我在早晨七点半做了一个检查, 检查清楚的显示在我的胰腺有一个肿瘤。我当时都不知道胰腺是什么东西。医生告诉我那很可能是一种无法治愈的癌症, 我还有三到六个月的时间活在这个世界上。我的医生叫我回家, 然后整理好我的一切, 那就是医生准备死亡的程序。那意味着你将要把未来十年对你小孩说的话在几个月里面说完.;那意味着把每件事情都搞定, 让你的家人会尽可能轻松的生活;那意味着你要说“再见了”。 I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now. 我整天和那个诊断书一起生活。后来有一天早上我作了一个活切片检查,医生将一个内窥镜从我的喉咙伸进去,通过我的胃, 然后进入我的肠子, 用一根针在我的胰腺上的肿瘤上取了几个细胞。我当时很镇静,因为我被注射了镇定剂。但是我的妻子在那里, 后来告诉我,当医生在显微镜地下观察这些细胞的时候他们开始尖叫, 因为这些细胞最后竟然是一种非常罕见的可以用手术治愈的胰腺癌症。我做了这个手术, 现在我痊愈了。 This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: 那是我最接近死亡的时候, 我还希望这也是以后的几十年最接近的一次。从死亡线上又活了过来, 死亡对我来说,只是一个有用但是纯粹是知识上的概念的时候,我可以更肯定一点地对你们说: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. 没有人愿意死, 即使人们想上天堂, 人们也不会为了去那里而死。但是死亡是我们每个人共同的终点。从来没有人能够逃脱它。也应该如此。 因为死亡就是生命中最好的一个发明。它将旧的清除以便给新的让路。你们现在是新的, 但是从现在开始不久以后, 你们将会逐渐的变成旧的然后被清除。我很抱歉这很戏剧性, 但是这十分的真实。 Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. 你们的时间很有限, 所以不要将他们浪费在重复其他人的生活上。不要被教条束缚,那意味着你和其他人思考的结果一起生活。不要被其他人喧嚣的观点掩盖你真正的内心的声音。还有最重要的是, 你要有勇气去听从你直觉和心灵的指示——它们在某种程度上知道你想要成为什么样子,所有其他的事情都是次要的。 When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions. 当我年轻的时候, 有一本叫做“整个地球的目录”振聋发聩的杂志,它是我们那一代人的圣经之一。它是一个叫Stewart Brand的家伙在离这里不远的Menlo Park书写的, 他象诗一般神奇地将这本书带到了这个世界。那是六十年代后期, 在个人电脑出现之前, 所以这本书全部是用打字机,、剪刀还有偏光镜制造的。有点像用软皮包装的google, 在google出现三十五年之前:这是理想主义的, 其中有许多灵巧的工具和伟大的想法。 Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stewart和他的伙伴出版了几期的“整个地球的目录”,当它完成了自己使命的时候, 他们做出了最后一期的目录。那是在七十年代的中期, 你们的时代。在最后一期的封底上是清晨乡村公路的照片(如果你有冒险精神的话,你可以自己找到这条路的),在照片之下有这样一段话:“保持饥饿,保持愚蠢。”这是他们停止了发刊的告别语。“保持饥饿,保持愚蠢。”我总是希望自己能够那样,现在, 在你们即将毕业,开始新的旅程的时候, 我也希望你们能这样: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. 保持饥饿,保持愚蠢。 Thank you all very much. 非常感谢你们。 【附:演讲原文】 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://bayecho.com/node/1706 Yesterday we learnedSteve Jobs was going to take a medical leave from Apple. At this time, I hearhis Stanford commencementspeech once again and still found itvery inspirational. I would like to sharewith you his speech and learn from his life stories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc Three Stories of My Life This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005. Three Stories of My Life This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
回头翻看以前的博客,算算我做免疫组库方面的工作已经有四个年头了。 这篇从苹果网搬过来的博客 记录了最早开始为免疫组库项目设计引物时候的情景。时间是07年十二月。而决定去用高通量测序方法做免疫组库研究是在07年的十月份,那是我刚刚离开Qiagen,加入HudsonAlpha研究院。 这篇08年七月的博客 记录了我和太太去斯坦福大学访问,那时我们刚刚完成了第一次用454测序免疫组库的工作,得到了很好的结果。在那以前,有关免疫组库方法学的专利已经申请进去了。 首次向外界披露我们的技术是在09年西雅图召开的 免疫年会 上。 论文 也是大概那个时候开始投稿的,不过一直到2010年年初 我们的论文 才在PNAS上发表。 免疫组库测序是个全新的领域,与其它“学院派”科学家不同,我们在做这个项目的时候不是把注意力集中在抢先发表论文上,而是努力把技术做得比别人好:更简 单,更好用,全自动,产品更全,软件更快更好。所以在他人不断发表论文的时候,我们却默默地做了大量技术研发的工作,也抢先申请了 一系列的专利 。 说道专利,我们最近还申请了另一个专利。这个专利的内容在 这篇博客 里面已经透露了一些。这个新专利是一个诊断产品。不过 我们要诊断的不是一个特定的病,而是一个正常指标 ! 事情是这样的,早在09年西雅图免疫年会上,我们就报告了免疫组库在肿瘤病人中有明显的多样性缺失的现象: 如上面的幻灯片所示,正常人的免疫组库(T细胞beta受体)多样性很好,在三维图像上看起来丛林密布;而结肠癌病人或系统性红斑狼疮病人的免疫组库则多 样性缺失,三维图像看上去就是几棵树。这些病人T细胞总数是正常的,可是他们的T细胞功能太专一,缺乏健康人应有的多样性。我们随后做了许多病人,都是如此。 开始,我们也和其它科学家一样,试图通过多做一些病人标本找到 更特异性 的免疫组库变化:某个特定的VDJ重组总是和某个肿瘤相关。可是,免疫系统潜在的多样性(人可以有10的20次方那么多不同的T细胞)实在太大,找到病人之间共有的特异性VDJ (或者CDR3)可能性很小。那么,免疫组库研究的诊断意义到底在哪里? 受中医思维影响,我对“上医医未病之病”一直感兴趣。可是医未病之病的前提条件就是能够诊断正常:只有能诊断正常,医生才能在病人稍微偏离正常状态时就能知道,及时加以纠正。引申开来,免疫组库技术在能诊断各种特异性疾病的同时,它的一个最好的应用可能就是去 诊断正常 。 如何评估一个人的免疫组库是否正常? 那就看他(她)的免疫组库多样性是否完好。可是作为一个临床诊断,最好要有一个定量的描述。这,就是我们新专利的一个特点和诉求。我们称之为D50(Diversity 50)。下面是专利里面对D50的描述: Aspects of the invention include arm-PCR amplification of CDR3 from T cells, B cells, and/or subsets of T or B cells. Large numbers of amplified products may then be efficiently sequenced using next-generation sequencers. If the significant percentage that is chosen is 50%, the number may be referred to as the “D50.” D50 may then be the p ercent of dominant and unique T or B cell clones that account for fifty percent (50%) of the total T or B cells counted in that sample. For high-throughput sequencing, for example, the D50 may be the number of the most dominant CDR3s, among all unique CDR3s, that make up 50% of the total effective reads, where total effective reads is defined as the number of sequences with identifiable V and J gene segments which have been successfully screened through a series of error filters. 所谓D50,就是通过arm-PCR技术扩增免疫组库然后测序。把半定量扩增出的免疫组库和测序结果做sorting, 表达量最高到表达量最低排列,然后从高到低地相加。加到50%(reads)的时候看看一共包括多少个克隆,克隆数占总数的百分比就是D50值。一个健康 人,因为免疫组库多样性好,免疫细胞总数的50%就会由许多不同的细胞组成,D50值就会偏高;相反,病人常常会有克隆性扩增,免疫多样性差,所以几个克 隆就占据了免疫细胞的50%了,因此D50值就偏低。 专利诉求中除了可以用测序方法做D50计算以外,还提到可以用iCubate仪器通过杂交的方法对D50进行评估。这样就有快速,便宜的方法来“诊断正常”了。
在巴士转第二圈时,我就在看准的有趣的地方下车逛了。第一个地方就是Christ Church College and Cathedral。这是一个很特别的学院,因为它的建筑是一座大教堂。并且,这儿跟两本非常有名的儿童读物都有关系。其一,是作家兼数学家 Lewis Carroll(他的笔名叫 Charles Dodgson)于1855年至1898年在这儿当数学导师,他以他的朋友Henry Liddell-当时的教堂学院的院长的女儿爱丽丝为原型写的爱丽斯漫游奇境。故事中描述过的兔子洞,草地什么的,现在都还能找到踪影。这教堂学院和另外一部儿童读物的关系是最近才搭上的:电影哈里珀特里的那个令成千上万的孩子们向往的魔法学校,就是在这里拍的。 不过,为了参观教堂学院,找它的大门倒让我费尽了周折。旅游车在教堂学院街边儿的大门前停下来,我跳下车,正好奇地向里边张望,门口一位像是从福尔摩斯小说里走出来的,戴着黑色礼帽的看门人对我说,参观的人要走右面的门。我看到一个箭头,便顺着它指的方向走进一大片草地。那儿真得很美:能看到教堂的尖顶的塔楼,绿草坪上还有很多人坐着,躺着,聊天或看书,享受着阳光。 不由自主地走到了一个铁栅栏门前,心想这大概就是参观者的门了。不知道为什么,这个铁栅栏门设计得非常奇怪:有两层,只能在关上一个门的时候才能打开另一个门,中间只能容得下一个身材比较瘦的人侧身而过。推着自行车的,或是象我的美国同事鲍勃那种皮球身材的人,非得卡在中间动不了。不知道这种设计是为了防什么。我心里纳闷儿着,要是着火了,逃生的人挤在这儿,大概都得变成烤肉串儿! 过了铁门,穿过一条狭窄的一面是围墙,一面是铁栅栏的路,终于看到了另一个大门。正想走进去,又出来了一个戴黑礼帽的看门人把我叫住,说这儿是参观的出口,入口在草地那边儿!看来我是贪看风景,错过了入口。只好再折回,从奇怪的铁门里绕出来,仔细找入口。原来,因为入口的地方正搭着脚手架修葺,被我当成建筑工地错过了。 从脚手架下边钻出来,又看到戴着黑礼帽的人,这回是卖票收费。我看过美国和欧洲大陆的不少教堂,这一点是英国的特色,参观教堂要收费。不知道上帝他老人家会对这种创收作何感想。后来知道参观牛津的不少学院也是要缴费的--这一点跟参观美国的往往是连围墙都没有的大学非常不同。 交完费,领到一本印刷精致的小册子,顺着规定的路线边走边看,才明白这儿跟斯坦福是用完全不同的经营理念来对待游人和校园的。不知道牛津是不是因为久负盛名,慕名而来的游人过多。这儿的卖点是历史,典故,古建筑,所以三步一岗五步一哨,时时有戴黑礼帽的人冒出来提醒你,不要踩了草坪,要沿着规定的路线走。。。而当我在斯坦福的校园里穿着轮滑鞋东游西逛时,或是也背着书包,混迹在其他学生中,赶着听对学生和全体大众免费的讲演或音乐会时,没有人关心我是不是学生,也没有人要求我只能按画好的路线走。斯坦福的卖点是一种强大无形的吸引力。 在戴黑礼帽的人严加把守的大门前偷窥一眼 那让我贪看风景错过大门的大草坪 爱丽丝当年追兔子的地方? 奇怪的铁门 教堂学院的内院--那可爱的草坪可不是游人随便踩的 古典的建筑,还有那背着手,严肃认真地监督着你一定要按画好的路线走的人 这个地方是不是很面熟?觉得对面走过来的就是珀特和他在魔法学院的两个好朋友。 在出口又遇到尽职尽责的守门人。他们让我和牛津之间增加了一种难以言传的距离感。
STF9612 :欣赏熊猫说出的经典台词 今天看了功夫熊猫 , 权当休闲 , 顺便还能学习英语 . 功夫熊猫确实很经典 , 以致引起那么大的反响 , 无论立意和内容都很棒 . 一些台词很经典 , 值得学习 : One meets its destiny on the road he takes to avoid it 往往在逃避命运的路上 , 却与之不期而遇 Your mind is like this water, my friend , when it is agitated ,it becomes difficult to see ,but if you allow it to settle , the answer becomes clear. true warrior, but do not surrender 你的思想就如同水 , 我的朋友 , 当水波摇曳时 , 很难看清 , 不过当它平静下来 , 答案就清澈见底了 . 真正的武士绝不放弃 There is a saying, Yesterday is history Tomorrow is a mystery But today is a gift 过去的 , 已经过去了 未来的 , 还未可知 现在 , 却是上苍的礼赠 There are no accidents. 世间无巧合 Yes , look at this tree Chivu (师傅) I can not make it boloosm and suits me , nor make it bear food before its time . 是的,看着这棵树, 我不能让树为我开花, 也不能让它提前结果 but there are things we can control I can control when the fruit will fall And I can control What time to seed That is not illusion , Master 师傅:但有些事情我们可以控制 我可以控制果实何时坠落 我还可以控制在何处播种 那可不是幻觉 大师 Yes, but no matter what you do, That seed will grow to be a peach tree You may wish for an Apple or an orange But you will get a peach But peache can not defeate Tai Long 乌龟:是啊 不过无论你做了什么 那个种子还是会长成桃树 你可能想要苹果 或桔子 可你只能得到桃子 那个种子还是会长成桃树师傅:可桃子不能打败太郎 Maybe it can if you are willing to guide it , to nuture it , to believe in it . 乌龟 : 也许它可以的 , 如果你愿意引导它、滋养它、相信它。 you cannot leave ,real warrior never quits. 你不能走,真的武士决不会退却 I stayed ,because I thought .. If anyone could change me , could make me not me , it was you 我留下来,因为我以为, 如果还有人能改变我, 能让我焕然一新, 那就是你 Im sorry things didnt work out Its just what its meant to be Paul ,forget everything else ,your destiny still awaits. We are Noodle folk Broth runs deep through our veins 阿宝,天不遂人愿, 况且这本不是天意, 阿宝,忘了其它的事情, 你的使命一直都在向你召唤。 我们是面条家族, 血管中流着这样的血。 To make something special ,you just have to believe its special. 认为它特别,它就特别了。
STF9611 : MOGID, 一次 very good 的 presentation 今天上午 9 点, mogia 年会( stanford university , molecular organicgeochemistry indusrial affiliates annual review )在斯坦福大学 hartley conference center , first floor , Mitchell earth sciences building 召开。 该会议是斯坦福大学分子有机地球化学实验室的每年的年会,摩尔德万非常重视这个会议,斯坦福大学分子有机地球化学实验室再进行基础研究的同时,也在为世界范围内的大石油公司服务,因而可以拿到石油公司的资助。 这次会议比预期的参会人员要少,总共不到 20 人,预期到的中石油及其它公司都没来人,可能是因为经济危机和 A(H1N1)l 流感的原因,很多公司未到会听说是受经济危机的影响,而中石油未来的原因更多是因为后者。 摩尔德万做了 introduction marks 和 new laboratory standards: Aquantification standard for the m/z191 chromatogram;a paraffin standard for inner-laboratory GC-C-IRM companies; 在这次会上见到了著名的 kenneth Peters ,搞有机地球化学的人应该都熟悉他的名字,他和摩尔德万出过一本生物标志物指南的书,他排第一,而我手里拿着的 the biomarker guide 是他们最近出版的,非常厚, 200 多美元,由剑桥大学出版社出版。 kenneth Peters 介绍了 a four-dimensional petroleum system model 的应用; 斯坦福大学地质与环境系系主任 stephen Graham 也到会发言,说要成立一个 basin modeling system, 准备招研究生 和 博士,这对于国内的学生应该是一个好机会。 其他的有 Shell company 的 Jeremy Dahl 做了, RICH-Arevolutionary new technology for developing new plays in mature basins; David Zinniker: Multidimensional Chromatography and Soft Ionization:increasing the analytical range of molecular organic geochemistry; 巴西的 Silivana Barbanti ,,气质很好 :new triaromatic steroids with taxon and gas-specificity; 埃及的 Waleed Bazeed ,留学生 :offshore west nile delta condesates and gaes geochemistry; 伊拉克的 furat saleh ,留学生 :organic geochemical study of crude oils, missan region, southern iraq; 中国的 ye wang : labotatory simulation of oil biodegradation in the marine simulation. 我感觉埃及,伊拉克的留学生做得工作很一般,尤其图很粗糙,我觉得自己的工作比他们出色的多。于是我同摩尔德万商量,我想介绍一下我的研究计划。 他们讲完后,我做了报告: an introduction of my research in the Stanford university; This is the begin: Firstly, I will thank for mikes kindness of sending me an invitation, so that I have the opportunity to study and research in the famous university, and also have the chance to stand here to speak. 做完报告后, peters 说了句 very good ,这是这次会议上我听到的一句唯一的 very good 。 我自己感觉也非常不错,如果我英语讲得更好些,那会更棒。 中午一块在校外的印度的一家饭店吃了饭,摩尔德万付账。 我旁边的就是摩尔德万,她旁边的是巴西的Silnana Barbanti
STF9610 :寻找回家的路 在人迷路的时候,都需要寻找回家的路,此时,家是个非常温暖和美好的概念。 今天,我成了迷失的羔羊,努力地寻找着回家的路。 上午,从办公室赶回宿舍,感觉非常困,就睡了一觉,一睡就是 4 个小时,醒来时已是 4 点,但仍然感觉很困,是否生物钟还没有调整过来?我这样问自己。不能再睡了,在半梦半醒之间,我告诉自己,因为白天睡多了觉,晚上的觉怎么睡,要符合守恒定律才行。我挣扎着爬起来。 此时去办公室已晚,何不去趟超市卖店东西。就要没油吃了,上个星期天随 lwj 去超市的时候,买了两瓶油,回来一看,感觉不对,上面写着 juice ,把果汁当成了油买回来,看来出门在外真是不容易,连 juice 都要欺骗你。 自己对这地方还不熟悉,能赶回来吗?我不禁有点担心。怕什么,不是说路在脚下吗,还是下定决心吧。 我拿了张地图,找到去 San Antonio Shopping Center 的斯坦福大学的 supper free shuttle ,找到离 Escondido road 很近的上车地点,刚好路边的座椅上,有一美国的 young woman ,经过与她交流,确认该地点是去 San Antonio Shopping Center 的 SE 路线。 The young woman 告诉我,她去过北京、上海和深圳,到过长城和紫禁城等景点,我对她说, you are very intelligent and brave, for China has so many people, and you cannot speak Chinese. 不一会,又来了位 old woman ,她很友好,看出我需要帮忙,就主动与我攀谈起来,告诉我上车的时间。 等了约十几分钟,来了 super shuttle, 上车坐定。听到后面传来 Chinese 的电话声,心想,既然自己不熟悉路,何不与她一道,熟悉熟悉。回头看去,坐在自己身后的是位比较清瘦的女孩,长得不算漂亮,但可以看出是来自中国南方。 你好,你是中国人吧 是呀她笑道,这里中国人很多,到处都能见到。 经过后来的攀谈,知道她是清华大学研究生毕业过来的,现在在这 边上 博士,学物理的。 我是 visiting scholar ,我前几天刚来,对这里不熟悉,我能否跟你一块,好对这里熟悉熟悉,你介意吗。 她说不介意,很好,有人 show me around , 我还怕什么。 她说她要去好几个地方,我说刚好,我要熟悉这里的情况。 到达 San Antonio Shopping Center ,随她去了几个超市。最后取得超市是 wal-mart 超市,面积比较大,我与她约好谁先出来就在门外等等对方,因为我不知道回去的路,不知道在哪儿上车。 我转了会,买了 cooking oil ,运动鞋还有卫生纸,感觉时间不早了,回到大门口,看她不在,就在门外等她。 我努力地等待,始终见不到她的身影,我不禁焦急起来,此时天色已经暗了起来,已经晚上 8 点啦,过了晚上 10 点,就没有车啦,而去斯坦福大学的车是 45 分钟一趟,也就是说最多只有 2 趟车啦。 我赶紧回超市招她去,转了两遍,也没发现她的踪影。 她肯定是已经先走了,既然与我是第一次见面,为何需要等我呢? 太不仁义啦,怎么这么倒霉,尽碰上这种 Chinese ,我已经跟她说啦,我不知道回去的路。 还是不要太相信别人的好,君子一言,驷马难追只有在有诚信的人身上才能体现出来。 有人说,这还不简单,找一个 taxi 就回去了。 那你也太不了解这里的情况了,来到斯坦福大学的这么多天,除了在飞机场见到一个 taxi ,到现在还没有见过第二辆 taxi 。想等到 taxi ,等到花儿都谢了,也等不到的。 这里的公交车也很少,可以说基本上是见不到公交的。 这里人都是开着 car 的,在飞机到达旧金山上空时,向下望去,到处都是一片一片的银光闪闪,想必都是 car 啦。 美国的汽车发达,停车场更发达,到处都有大面积的停车场,尤其是在商场或超市旁边。 看时间已经很晚,我赶紧寻找回家的路。 只能靠自己了,不是说有了方向和目标就能寻找到路吗? 首先我寻找来时的路,下车的地点,花了 10 分钟左右时间,还未赶到来时停车点,见到路边坐椅上的一对小青年正谈情说爱。 在美国的路上是很少见到行人的,没办法,只好向他们打听打听。 与他们边说边比划,他们告诉我,方向弄错了。原来,我市中国的思维来分析美国的道路,中国城市的来、回上车地点基本在同一道路的两侧,相隔不远,从哪儿下车,应该就能找到哪儿上车。 然而,去斯坦福大学的车不经过来时的停车点,经过这对青年的指引,我迅速回头,赶回 war-mart ,在其旁边的另一条道路上找到了站点。 时间一点一点过去,焦急地等待,如果等不到车,晚上我只能睡马路了,而明天我还有重要的会议参加 .. 终于,老天不负有心人,等到了那辆期盼已久的 Marjuerite. 向司机讲了半天,说到 Escondido road ,美国的小站点通常没有站名,这对初来乍到的人来说,造成了一个苦难。 我拿出地图,向司机知名我要去的位置,可这位司机竟然眼花还是近视,拿着地图,说看不清楚。 看不清楚地图竟然还能开大 bus ,真是难以想象。 不过这位司机很是热情,问了旁边的几位乘客,终于搞清楚我在什么地方下车。但如果按照汽车的路线,我得绕校园一趟,要知道,斯坦福的校园面积是非常大的,清华与之相比,也就是斯坦福的一个拐角; 回到校园,车到了 Escodido viliage ,旁边的一位 young woman 说, you should get off, 她同时向她旁边的同伴说了下,旁边的那位点点头。 我下了车,天色已经很暗啦,已经晚上 9 点半啦,路上的行人愈加稀少。 家在何方?我此时只知道目标,已经不知道方向啦,没有方向只有目标又怎么能找到奔向目标的路呢? 走了一段时间,幸好看见一黑人留学生,他给我指了指路; 沿着他指点的方向,又走了一段时间; 还是没有找到目标,方向也不清晰 .. 一对留学的情侣继续指点 . 继续前进,终于看到几个高楼啦, 126blackwelder 应该是其中的一座。就这样,在逐渐的摸索中,终于回到了家,时间已经是晚上十点半。 希望与信任,期望与等待,焦急与摸索,一个孤身在外的异客,一个不安的心,汇成一次难忘的记忆:寻找回家的路。
Fred 是一个很 nice 的人 , 他是摩尔德万的得力助手 , 实验室没有了他不行 . 今天在办公室看到 , 他不仅管理实验室 , 还能给 wy 修改博士论文 , 可见学问也深得很 . Fred 虽年近五旬 , 但为人很和蔼 , 也特别热情 . 今天与他探讨了实验的问题 , 他给我介绍了热裂解实验的大致流程 , 我随后问他 , 有没有做过湖相干酪根或原油裂解实验 , 他耸肩说 , 这得问摩尔德万 , 虽然实验做了不少 , 但具体样品他记得不是很清楚 . 原后我又问他 , 能否在实验过程中变换压力的大小 , 以考察超压对原油裂解的影响 , 他说这不好办 , 你有很好的 IDEA, 但不好实现 , 这种实验过程成本很高 , 并且比较危险 . 我说是否可以对相同样品做多个不同压力条件下的实验 , 一样可以考察压力的影响 . 他思考了一下 , 说以后再进一步讨论吧 . 看来是不好办 . 我说, Safety is first , if not safety, we change the idea. 他看见我正在看摩尔德万给我的那本超厚书: biomarker guide, 说,你可以先大致看他有哪些内容,相当于大致浏览一遍,等需要的时候,再看 detail ,我说是, you have provide a good suggestion, it is a very good book, and it has a lot of information. 他又给我介绍了生物标志物的应用,说不仅在石油系统中,在考古学,如鉴定木乃伊成分上也有应用。 他又说,这几天我们都很忙,准备 11 号的地球化学实验室年会,所以没人照顾你,你也没有 project ,你这段时间可以校园到处逛逛,相当于度蜜月啦。 我说是的, I will be familiar with the campus and the work mike has done in those days. The campus is very beautiful and large, I love it very much. Fred, a nice person, 很幸运能在这关键时刻能碰见他,相信和他有个很好的 collaboration 。