A famous war strategist of the Chinese Han Dynasty two thousand years ago said：“Make friend with your enemy”.The quotation has taught me about the dynamic in human relationships，and has given me a sense of peace.Yet its logic of“solving problems from the opposite side”has greatly inspired my thoughts in science.One of my youthful dreams，of transforming mosquitoes into harmless creatures，is one such result of my belief in the philosophy behind this proverb.All through my schooling from China to America，I was stimulated by these ideas，although the chances to carry them out were limited.
I grew up in Fuzhou city，located in China's subtropical region.In the morning I was a superkid who excelled in school，but at night at my desk I was vulnerable to mosquitoes for hours.Each summer，mosquitoes in Fuzhou become a pernicious public enemy.Their attacks are extraordinarily keen at night.Mosquito coils，mosquito spray，and even an electrocuting rod were all deployed.But mosquitoes'short life cycle and enormous reproductive capacity made them hard to kill.At that age，I was a fat little boy.The mosquitoes seemed to just love kids like me！In the dark they found their way to the fourth floor of the apartment，bit me all over the arms and legs，and left me bites that swelled and itched.The more I scratched，the itchier my skin became.But besides my own nighttime annoyance，I read that mosquitoes infect people with meningitis virus.I was shocked.I was hospitalized once，and the girl of the next bed was diagnosed with meningitis.Her sickly blank look haunted me.
In my sophomore year，my high school organized students to do group research.When I heard the news，as if prepared，the idea of mosquitoes flashed to my mind：“Are fat kids with white skin more susceptible to their attack?What is the cause of the swelling and the itching at the site of mosquito bites?How do mosquitoes locate targets in the dark?By odor?How come they don't bite flowers?”
One of my teammates on Biology Olympics team said，“You want us to study mosquitoes?They will bite！”
“Well，make friends with your foe.”
“Where do you get these ideas no one's ever heard of?”asked another.
“I just read that the inheritance cues encrypted in molecules are carried in human body odor，”I bragged，having read that the“testing”of the molecules at our olfactory receptor attracts us to one particular member of the opposite sex.“Thus I conjecture there might be similar biological molecular signaling processes in the mosquito's case.”
I was made captain.We conducted the controlled experiments on odor，fat composition and skin color variables.As my confidence developed with each conclusion，I felt thrilled to begin guessing at the decisive method to control mosquitoes.The wisdom in the motto“make friends with your foe”enlightened me.Female mosquitoes need blood to produce sex hormones in order to mature its bursa copulatrix（uterus）.I thought it might be feasible to apply current recombinant genetic technology to trigger her inert hormone genes to automatically manufacture the hormone protein，in the absence of blood.Once done，this trait could be inherited and propagated for generations.However，my teachers rejected this new thinking because they had never seen other Chinese kids doing so;moreover，it would not help us get into good colleges.I came to see that while China's education system pushes students to succeed，but its teachers lack interest and even respect for students'initiative.Our project was rewarded in school competition for the experiments we performed，but the idea I had been most excited about was left out.I was told by my teachers to“plug into”Olympic Biology.So，while research endeavor did not reach fruition，this experience caused me to gravitate toward life sciences.At the same time，the more I studied mosquitoes and tested my ideas，the more I felt relieved from the lost，blank smile of the little girl.
After my sophomore year，I immigrated with my dad to America.The sanitation here is much better;every window has screens.Mosquitoes are almost unseen at home.However when the family went out to picnics or barbeques，the familiar mosquito buzz was back.I found the mosquito stronger here.Their bites make bigger lump，hard，pain and itchy for a week as opposed to the more annoying but innocuous bites of their Chinese brethrens.
Two summers ago，the news reported that the outbreak of West Nile disease was caused by the mosquitoes carrying a new and fatal virus.I heard about elderly people and children dying.The tragedy ignited my old ideas and the memory of that research.I felt the call to retry my idea.But at the time，I was a complete foreigner;my science teacher turned my idea down.He seemed to find my philosophical ideas fantastically oriental and odd，and my science interests far beyond the scope of high school biology.Whereas in China I had faced lack of support and freedom，in the U.S，I faced new problems of cultural and linguistic differences.I was starting all over again in a new high school，new language，and a new culture，and I met indifference from people.But I never abandon my effort to“change unfriendliness into friendship，”and I never abandoned my search for a place whose doors are open to ideas like mine.
