As an impressionable sophomore at East China Normal University in Shanghai, Joe Tsien knew he was interested in biology, but he wasn't sure how he wanted to focus his studies. "I felt I did well in biochemistry class," says Tsien, so he took up residence in a biochemistry lab. There, he says, "I only saw beakers and a half-broken centrifuge" that jumped around the benchtop as the rotor spun. "That really turned me off."
So he stopped by the lab of Wen-qu Weng, a neuroscientist who was recording the activity of neurons in anesthetized animals. "The whole room was dark. One surgical light was shining on the brain. It was so mysterious ... so exciting," says Tsien. "I was about to ask what was going on when the professor said, 'Shh, the brain is talking.' You could hear the spikes coming out over the amplifier. I was immediately hooked and ...
