top student at medical school

Chapter 131, Article on Supply and Technical Barriers (Please Subscribe)
Blood sausage, also known as blood cake, is made by cleaning pig intestines and removing some of the fat, then steaming them with glutinous rice and pig blood, along with seasonings such as peppercorns and salt. It can be frozen for a long time in the refrigerator.

Whether you fry or steam it afterwards, it tastes incredibly delicious.

Crispy pork balls are made by mincing lean meat, mixing it with flour, and adding seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorns. In Fang Ziye's hometown, it is customary to fry them together with Sichuan peppercorn leaves, resulting in a spicy and crispy flavor.

Actually, Hubei Province prefers a savory and spicy flavor, not just pure numbing and spicy. However, the reason why the crispy pork and blood sausage brought by Fang Ziye could meet Luo Tingzhu's Chongqing numbing and spicy taste was that Fang Ziye specifically asked his mother to add locally produced Sichuan peppercorns.

Fang Ziye didn't deep-fry the pork, but he cut it into small pieces and cooked it together with the broth, which was also delicious.

Moreover, Fang Ziye also blanched some cabbage leaves, and when he brought them out, Luo Tingzhu blushed slightly with embarrassment.

After all, this was the third time she had the time to cook but instead of going home to cook, she came to Fang Ziye's place to freeload.

When Fang Ziye brought it out, it was steaming hot, with a porcelain ladle resting horizontally on the earthenware bowl.

He said, "Tingzhu, you eat first, don't be shy. I'll go in and get the blood enema, it's a bit hot."

Fang Ziye had already prepared the small bowls for eating, but there were no other dishes or staple foods.

Luo Tingzhu agreed, but only helped to distribute a small bowl of the contents into Fang Ziye's and hers respectively, before heading to the sink.

About three minutes later, Fang Ziye casually rinsed his hands and came out. Luo Tingzhu handed Fang Ziye a piece of paper and then said, "Senior brother, I won't wait for you anymore."

It's clear that she has little resistance to spicy food.

Fang Ziye nodded and smiled, sitting down as he said, "Junior sister, your experiment is almost halfway complete, right?"

"At your pace, you could take the results with you and start writing your paper before you even leave the country."

Luo Tingzhu's progress in learning basic experiments can be described as rapid.

It's only been half a year since she entered the lab, but her proficiency is already quite good, reaching level 2 and close to level 3. If Fang Ziye hadn't relied on stat points, he probably would have only reached level 2 at most by now.

Luo Tingzhu pursed her lips, chewing slowly, without saying a word.

After she swallowed it, she squinted her eyes slightly in enjoyment: "It should be about the same. But there's still a huge gap compared to your speed in doing experiments, senior brother."

All of Luo Tingzhu's own work combined could only be counted as two and a half times the workload.

It takes Luo Tingzhu about two weeks to complete a single task, but Fang Ziye's work efficiency is several times that of hers.

Luo Tingzhu didn't show it intentionally, but she felt that sometimes the gap between talents was an absolute helplessness, just like some of her classmates, who also felt powerless when facing her.

"Oh, right, senior brother, a few days ago, senior brother Qian Qiaofeng asked me for your email address."

"I guess they're going to publish an article about you. They'll probably leave your contact information when you submit it. You can check your email for messages recently."

“Although most journals only contact the corresponding author, a few journals will send a notification to all authors regarding the results,” Luo Tingzhu suddenly said.

Fang Ziye finished his first bite of the soft and tender crispy pork chunk and was about to have a piece of blood pudding when...

Hearing Luo Tingzhu say this, he was slightly taken aback: "When did this happen? Why haven't I heard Senior Brother Qian mention it?"

Fang Ziye was completely unaware of this matter.

"I guess he's not the first author, but the second author. Since you were also involved in supervising the experiment, I just published it along with you."

"Although second-authored works are not as valuable or worth as high when looking for a job, having a second-authored work can still be a plus."

"It's just that I don't want to ask Senior Brother Qian anything." Luo Tingzhu slightly restrained her eating manners, took a spoon, blew on a piece of crispy pork, and poured it into her mouth, where it slid in...

After dinner, Fang Ziye washed the dishes and asked Luo Tingzhu to go to the laboratory from home first. Then, around 7 p.m., he headed towards the laboratory to find Qian Qiaofeng.

Because Qian Qiaofeng seems to be doing a gene sequencing experiment related to lung adenomas, Fang Ziye needs to work with him to work on the experimental plan in advance.

Since he had agreed to cooperate with them on the experiment, and Qian Qiaofeng and the others were quite generous to Fang Ziye, Fang Ziye naturally couldn't just be a figurehead.

However, gene sequencing-related experiments cannot be performed in the laboratory until the equipment arrives; we can only go to an external company to operate them ourselves.

The reason for doing it himself is that Associate Professor Hong Zili wants to find a unique original target from the cell's gene pool, which is not a corresponding target that is already mature.

This is extremely difficult, and it is at a level of global innovation, many times more difficult than creating a new cell line.

Therefore, Fang Ziye spent the next few days discussing the progress of the experiment with Qian Qiaofeng...

mid-December.

One afternoon.

Fang Ziye and Qian Qiaofeng emerged from a large biotechnology company looking somewhat dejected, accompanied by a manager who also expressed his apologies: "Professor Fang, Professor Qian, we are really sorry. It's definitely not that our company's equipment is inadequate, but rather that your experimental goals were too high."

"The success rate of such pioneering research, which involves sequencing genes and accurately naming new and effective targets for tumor cells, is like finding a needle in a haystack."

Biotech companies typically have PhDs in charge, but most employees are master's or bachelor's degree holders.

However, there are very few PhDs. Generally, there are only one or two company-owned PhDs in a large region, and it is impossible for them to accompany you at all times. Therefore, the staff here all address medical laboratory staff as "teachers".

Qian Qiaofeng himself knew the difficulty of this experiment. It was just an "out-of-the-box" idea of ​​Associate Professor Hong Zili. With sufficient funding, it was just a trial run of one or two small probe sequencing. How could it be accomplished overnight?

If it were that simple, then every country in the world could have successfully landed on the moon.

"It's alright, Manager Zhou. We are aware of the difficulty of this experiment."

"Thank you, Manager Zhou, for the discount," Qian Qiaofeng replied, undeterred.

Manager Zhou said, "Teacher Qian, this discount is nothing. Our company can operate thanks to the support of teachers like you. It's just that, Teacher Qian, you said you'd have to come again in the future."

"Even if there is a discount, the chances are slim, and it would be a waste of money."

"In our hearts."

Manager Zhou felt extremely guilty for taking the money but not being able to do the job.

"Manager Zhou, isn't that wishful thinking? Everyone has to have dreams. It's normal to stumble and fall while pursuing your dreams. As for the funding, my master has his own arrangements, and you won't be shortchanged. You can rest assured."

"Junior Brother Fang and I are leaving now. See you next time." Qian Qiaofeng waved his hand and left gracefully.

"How about I see the two teachers off?" Manager Zhou still felt bad about it.

After all, Associate Professor Hong Zili is a major client of their company, with annual periodic orders totaling at least hundreds of thousands, and sometimes even millions. He is their bread and butter.

"No need, Manager Zhou. My junior colleague and I will take a taxi and chat for a bit on the way," Qian Qiaofeng said.

Manager Zhou didn't follow any further, maintaining impeccable manners. Since it was inconvenient for Qian Qiaofeng to be followed, he wouldn't be tactless.

Fang Ziye had only taken two steps when he asked, "Senior Brother Qian, this kind of gene sequencing project is definitely a huge engineering project. Can Professor Hong's funding really support it?"

This gene probe sequencing is not cheap. Fang Ziye feels that he can almost complete 0.4 units of work in this sequencing alone, which costs several thousand yuan.

This sequencing attempt was merely a needle in a haystack, finding only a small corner of the ocean.

The length of a gene is almost impossible to count, and there are numerous targets. If you shift by even one position, the result is completely different. Even if the most powerful computer today runs for 10,000 years, it still cannot calculate one-thousandth of the total length.

Humans have approximately 20000 to 25000 genes, containing about 31.6 billion DNA base pairs. However, which base pairs correspond to which genes is uncertain, and this is only what we know; there are countless other locations… “That’s okay, we just want to try some preliminary experiments; it’s like chasing a dream.”

“Currently, in basic cell experiments, naming new gene targets or discovering new RNAs is at the level of absolute technical barriers, equivalent to the difficulty of knocking out a gene in animal experiments.”

"If it were really that easy, then it would be impossible that after so many years, there are only tens of thousands of gene targets that have been confirmed, despite the efforts of so many teams around the world."

"I believe my master has his own reasons."

Qian Qiaofeng smiled helplessly before saying, "Oh, right, Junior Brother Fang, Qin Hang and Zhao Yanlin from our group are essentially mentoring newcomers. They submitted an article, and they are both first authors. My master is the corresponding author, so you are only the second author."

"It should be published soon. They had already completed most of the article before the data results came out."

Qian Qiaofeng reported this to Fang Ziye as if he were surrendering.

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye felt a chill run down his spine: "Senior Brother Qian, this is actually unnecessary."

How much ability and influence does Fang Ziye currently possess? Does he really need someone else to help him publish articles?

Don't look down on second and third authorship in SCI journals. If the quality is high, second and third authorship in SCI journals can be just as valuable as first authorship.

If it's placed in a prefecture-level city hospital, a co-authored article can also be good material for promotion, and the bonus points are very high, as it is considered a scientific research achievement.

The doctors who are doing their residency at a prefecture-level city hospital are looking to buy this.

"Hey, junior brother, you said it yourself, this is actually unnecessary, so there's no need to change it. Anyway, you won't miss this one article."

"Publishing papers is not a burden. You guided the work on a lot of the data, and you should be familiar with the results yourself, so it doesn't matter. Teamwork in the lab is normal."

“Exactly, this gene sequencing.” Qian Qiaofeng’s chauvinistic tendencies kicked in again at that moment.

"I just don't understand what my master is thinking. You can't just give away money like that."

"Chasing dreams?"

"I don't even want to think about this 'dream-chasing' scam anymore," Qian Qiaofeng complained.

Fang Ziye glanced at Qian Qiaofeng, feeling helpless.

When others can't buy something, you're offered things and "tribute" to, and you can't refuse. Where can you find the justice in that?

However, Fang Ziye knew that the reason he could easily access them was because of his own strength, not his money.

What Qian Qiaofeng calls gene sequencing is less a dream and more a gamble, and a gamble on something with an even lower probability than winning the lottery.

A gene is a sequence composed of four nucleotides: A, T, C, and G. Each nucleotide carries a different number of bases. Generally speaking, a gene is said to be a sequence composed of four bases. Each gene is composed of many bases; small genes have a few hundred bases, while large genes have millions of bases.

We can't determine where it starts, we can't determine where it ends, we can't know how long it is, and then we have to search through billions of gene base pairs.

The odds of winning the lottery are probably billions of times higher than this.

Similarly, gene knockout in animal models is also a difficult task. If you want to knock out all the corresponding genes and ensure that no gene mutation occurs, that is not easy.

No one can unlock the secrets of genes right now. What would happen if a gene segment were knocked out?
Therefore, the existing knockout method simply silences a segment of genes.

However, silencing genes within cells is already quite difficult, let alone manipulating the entire organism. The level of difficulty remains extremely high.

"Senior brother, thank you very much. In the next few days, when I have some free time, I'll treat you, Senior Brother Duan, Qin Hang, Zhao Yanlin, and a few others to a meal."

"I didn't do anything, and this good thing happened to me."

Qian Qiaofeng said, "We can have a meal, but we have to split the bill. Everyone has their own difficulties. There's no need for you to treat us. If anyone should treat us, it'll be Duan and me. After all, we get more subsidies than you junior brothers."

"It's getting late, I have to go back to the department first. I have a minor cystoscopy surgery this afternoon, which my teacher managed to get for me. I have to go to the operating room."

"Then let's hurry back. I also need to go back to the lab and get some cell lines for animal experiments to the animal testing center," Fang Ziye replied, also hoping to hitch a ride.

After all, whether you're taking a taxi alone or with someone else, it's still the same thing.

After parting ways with Qian Qiaofeng, Fang Ziye could see the helplessness in Qian Qiaofeng's eyes as he watched his hurried figure.

Even though he knew that gene sequencing was unreliable, Associate Professor Hong Zili's orders and his pursuit of his dream meant that Qian Qiaofeng had to spend time and energy to do such a thing, which was actually a form of exploitation.

After all, labor without reward is exploitation.

But from another perspective, is it wrong for Associate Professor Hong Zili to have a dream, to have a field of basic research that allows him, the Department of Orthopedics at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, and even the entire scientific research community in China to make his voice heard?

To be honest, both China and Wuhan University need such voices.

The chances are just too slim to be realistic.

But if you don't even have dreams, then wouldn't living be nothing more than being a walking corpse repeating itself?
This is a question that falls under the category of philosophy.

When Fang Ziye arrived at the laboratory, he discovered that Luo Tingzhu and the duo of Jie Han and Lan Tianlu seemed to have formed a very tacit understanding in terms of timing.

In other words, when Luo Tingzhu was conducting experiments in the laboratory, Jie Han and Lan Tianluo always managed to avoid her at just the right moment, and vice versa.

Fang Ziye had witnessed this delicate balance more than once.

Because often, Fang Ziye would run into Lan Tianluo coming downstairs at the door, and then he would meet Luo Tingzhu, who had just entered the laboratory and was about to go to get the reagents for the cell experiments.

As the senior brother, Fang Ziye really couldn't interfere in the matter between Luo Tingzhu and Lan Tianluo, since it was a family matter.

Fang Ziye hadn't spoken yet.

Luo Tingzhu asked with a hint of anticipation, "Senior brother, how was it?"

Fang Ziye replied, "Just as expected. If we can encounter something with a probability of less than one in a billion, then we'll be incredibly lucky."

Gene probe technology involves designing a relatively unfamiliar but regular mRNA based on various knowledge and theories, then searching for a matching gene in a gene bank, and finally testing the possible function of this mRNA after finding the corresponding sequence.

Luo Tingzhu wasn't surprised. Instead, she followed Fang Ziye's example and waved the culture bottles in her hand at him. There were clearly as many as six or seven of them.

"So you're going to conduct two experiments at once too?" Fang Ziye was slightly surprised.

A double-ended experiment involves two lines that are used simultaneously for experimental operations.

“Senior, we need to lay the groundwork for the next research project. The grant proposals will be written soon, and each of us will be submitting a paper.” Luo Tingzhu said as she placed the culture flasks onto the cell culture workbench.

Then, after Fang Ziye entered the cell laboratory and took all the reagents to the constant temperature water bath, Luo Tingzhu said mysteriously, "Senior brother, do you know? Professor Hong's group's data was stolen and even published as an article."

As Fang Ziye turned around, he heard these words and immediately froze.

His expression froze instantly.

Damn it?

Does that mean I'll be called over by Associate Professor Hong Zili for questioning, or have to prove my innocence?

(End of this chapter)