'Insect man' hits it big

Scientist with love for bugs helped discover thousands of viruses

Tian Junhua has been studying insects ever since he was a little boy, but he never imagined that one day his name might appear in one of the world's top academic journals. Last month, renowned scientific journal Nature published an article entitled Redefining the Invertebrate RNA Virosphere, reporting the discovery of 1,445 viruses that use ribonucleic acid as their genetic material by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tian, from the Wuhan City CDCP in Hubei province, was one of the authors of the article. The 36-year-old, a researcher at the center's institute for disinfection and vector control, is also known by the nickname "insect man".