Cao Tianqin (; 5 December 1920 – 8 January 1995), also known as Tien-chin Tsao, was a Chinese biochemist and a professor at the

Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry The Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences were research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous u ...

. With a research focus on muscle protein, he discovered the

myosin light chain A myosin light chain is a light chain (small polypeptide subunit) of myosin. Myosin light chains were discovered by Chinese biochemist Cao Tianqin (Tien-chin Tsao) when he was a graduate student at the University of Cambridge in England. Struc ...

and pioneered the study of

tropomyosin Tropomyosin is a two-stranded alpha-helical, coiled coil protein found in many animal and fungal cells. In animals, it is an important component of the muscular system which works in conjunction with troponin to regulate muscle contraction. It ...

and paramyosin using

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

s. He was a strong advocate and main leader for the synthesis of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

, and spearheaded the research of

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathoge ...

es in China. An academician of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

(CAS) and a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

, he served as President of the CAS Shanghai Branch. He was the husband of the renowned physicist Xie Xide.

Early life

Cao was born in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

on 5 December 1920. He entered the affiliated high school of

Yenching University Yenching University () was a Private university, private research university in Beijing, China, from 1919 to 1952. The university was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" come ...

in 1932, and was admitted to the Chemistry Department of Yenching University in 1935. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, he left Japanese-occupied Beijing for inland "Free China" in 1941. When Yenching was reopened in

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

in 1943, he resumed his studies and graduated in 1944. For the next two years he worked at the Sino-British Cooperation Office in China's wartime capital

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, where he helped

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, initia ...

research the history of science in China.

Career

After the end of World War II, he received a British Council Scholarship in 1946 on Needham's recommendation and studied under biochemist Kenneth Bailey at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. At Cambridge he discovered the

, a subunit of the

myosin Myosins () are a Protein family, family of motor proteins (though most often protein complexes) best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are adenosine triphosphate, ATP- ...

protein molecule, and this is considered his most important contribution. In 1951, he earned his Ph.D. and was elected as a fellow of Gonville and Caius College, which was an uncommon honour for a non-British person. He married fellow Chinese scientist Xie Xide in Cambridge in 1952. On the invitation of Wang Yinglai, Cao returned to China in October 1952 to work for the Shanghai Institute of Physiology and Biochemistry and later the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, where he continued his research on muscle proteins. He and his students pioneered the study of

and paramyosin using

s. He was also a strong advocate and main leader for the synthesis of

, and spearheaded the research in

es. Cao was appointed Vice President of the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry in 1960 and held the position until 1984. He also taught at

Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...

and Shanghai University of Science and Technology. Many of his students later became accomplished scientists, including academicians Zhang Youshang, Qi Zhengwu and Li Zaiping, and explorer Peng Jiamu. Zhang later recalled Cao's lively lectures in which he explained DNA and proteins using references to ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' and the ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' () or ''Laozi'' is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated. The oldest excavated por ...

''. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, Joseph Needham was accused of being a British spy, and Cao was severely persecuted and imprisoned for his association with Needham. This caused long-term damage to his health, and in the view of Zhang Youshang, led to his relatively early death. In 1973, Cao participated in the research of the ancient corpse from the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

tombs of

Mawangdui Mawangdui () is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li ...

. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Cao was politically rehabilitated and awarded a National Scientific Achievement Prize in 1978, and elected as a CAS academician in 1980. In the mid-1980s, he served as President of the CAS Shanghai Branch.

Death

Cao died on 8 January 1995 in Shanghai, at the age of 74. After his death, a series of Tianqin Cao Memorial Symposium on Protein Research were held in his memory. Its fourth edition was held in December 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Tianqin 1920 births 1995 deaths Alumni of the University of Cambridge Biologists from Beijing Chemists from Beijing Chinese biochemists Chinese expatriates in the United Kingdom Educators from Beijing Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Academic staff of Fudan University Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences Victims of the Cultural Revolution Yenching University alumni