The Science Fiction World of Xueba

Although it is much smaller than the hive laboratory, compared to the life science laboratories in the real world, the underground laboratory of the Kempten base is still a giant.

In the laboratory, there are spectrometers, chromatographs, gene introduction instruments, protein purification systems, cell fusion instruments, electrophoresis instruments, atomic absorption spectrometers, virus immunofluorescence analyzers, chromatography instruments, biochemical analyzers, refrigeration Electron microscope and so on, there are also many instruments and equipment that Pang Xuelin has never seen before.

For example, the artificial uterus used for somatic cell cloning looks like huge glass jars on the surface, connected by various pipes, which can provide a series of nutrients and growth hormones for the clones inside.

According to Spruce, this artificial womb can make a clone grow from a fertilized egg to a ChéngRén within half a year.

Only then did Pang Xuelin realize that the glass jars filled with Alice clones he had seen in the underground base of Irwin Town were probably the so-called artificial wombs.

In addition, there are some instruments and equipment that are also very interesting.

For example, a 4D-EM high-resolution cryo-electron microscope used to analyze the three-dimensional structure of proteins.

It was also the first time for Pang Xuelin to see this kind of cryo-electron microscope.

In the real world, cryo-EM can be mainly divided into three categories, namely, cryo-transmission electron microscope, cryo-scanning electron microscope, and cryo-etch electron microscope.

The cryo-transmission electron microscope is the most common, and a sample freezing stage is usually added to the ordinary transmission electron microscope to cool the sample to the temperature of liquid nitrogen (77K). It is used to observe temperature-sensitive samples such as proteins and biological slices. By freezing the sample, the damage of the electron beam to the sample can be reduced, the deformation of the sample can be reduced, and the real sample shape can be obtained.

Cryo-SEM is a fast, reliable and effective method to overcome the problem of water in samples. This technique is also widely used to observe some "difficult" samples, such as those sensitive to electron beam instability.

The third type of cryo-etching electron microscope allows the sample to be frozen to make its microstructure close to the perfect state. After the sample is etched by freeze-fracture, the microstructure of different cleavage planes can be observed, and then the membrane structure in the cell can be studied. And the structure of the inclusions, frozen etched samples, replica films prepared by platinum and carbon spraying, have a strong three-dimensional effect and can withstand electron beam bombardment and long-term storage.

In the real world, cryo-electron microscopes are high-end equipment in the field of biology. The price is around 6 million US dollars, and there are not many sets in China. The largest cryo-electron microscope center is located in Southern University of Science and Technology in Shencheng.

However, in the Kempten underground laboratory, these three types of cryo-electron microscopes have disappeared, and they have been replaced by 4D-EM cryo-electron microscopes.

This kind of cryo-electron microscope does not exist in the real world. It uses femtosecond laser instead of ordinary electrons to form an ultra-fast image, which greatly improves the resolution of the sample.

Moreover, after Spruce's introduction, Pang Xuelin discovered that the emergence of this electron microscope technology has allowed scientists to analyze the evolution route of the three-dimensional structure and function of certain protein molecules.

This is a very important academic achievement.

According to the theory of evolution, a large number of protein sets with diverse structures and functions in nature evolved from a limited number of protein ancestor molecules.

However, scientists have discovered in their research that protein molecules with new functions can evolve in a short period of time in nature.

For example, not long after the appearance of some man-made chemicals, enzymes specialized in decomposing them appeared in nature.

Dozens of months after some new antibiotics were put into use, new proteins with drug-resistant functions appeared in some microorganisms.

The basis of the evolution of protein structure and function is the change of amino acid sequence.

The sequence changes most likely to occur in evolution include changes in the type of single amino acid residues at specific positions, insertion of new sequence fragments or loss of sequence fragments, these typical mutations** and so on.

In the real world, due to the relatively limited means of protein structure research and evolution observation, it is difficult for scientists to clarify the physical and chemical mechanisms behind protein structure and function changes.

In the world of Resident Evil, with the help of 4D-EM cryo-electron microscopy, atom probe chromatography and other means, scientists have been able to clearly understand the evolution process of certain protein molecules.

In addition, Pang Xuelin also saw a brand new gene editing technology in the laboratory.

In the real world, there are two main gene editing technologies, one is CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and the other is single-base editing technology.

The so-called CRISPR is actually a repetitive sequence in the genome of prokaryotic organisms. It is an immune weapon produced by the struggle between bacteria and viruses in the history of life evolution. Own gene replication service.

Bacteria have evolved the CRISPR/Cas9 system in order to remove the foreign invasion genes of the virus. Using this system, bacteria can quietly remove the virus gene from their own genome, which is the unique immune system of bacteria.

Microbiologists have learned that bacteria have a variety of immune functions to cut out foreign virus genes. The typical model is to rely on a complex that can search for the target DNA sequence under the guidance of a piece of RNA, and then cut off the sequence .

Many bacterial immune complexes are relatively complex. Among them, scientists have mastered the operation technology of a protein Cas9, and successively excised the DNA of various target cells.

The technology, known as the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system, has become the hottest technology in the life sciences in the real world.

However, in practical applications, CRISPR/Cas9 technology has off-target effects, and its application in gene therapy and other aspects has serious side effects.

The BE3 single-base gene editing technology also has off-target problems, and it may even cause a large number of mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, and there are also great safety risks in practical applications.

This is also an important reason why the "gene-edited baby" experiment of Associate Professor He Jiankui of SUSTech was severely condemned two years ago, and it is also a starting point for prohibiting the genetic manipulation of human embryos for the purpose of reproduction.

Because of this, in the real world, human gene editing technology is still in its infancy.

Humans have also been looking for a new generation of gene editing tools that are better than CRISPR/Cas9.

In 2016, there was a Han Chunyu incident that caused a global sensation in China.

Associate Professor Han Chunyu from HB University of Science and Technology claimed to have found a new gene editing tool, the NgAgo/gDNA system, which is much higher than the CRISPR/Cas9 system in terms of accuracy and editing efficiency.

After the paper was published in the top international journal "Nature Biotechnology", it aroused strong attention at home and abroad, and was even praised by some media as a "Nobel Prize-level" experimental result.

But shortly thereafter, the content of the paper became embroiled in controversy that was difficult to repeat.

The repeatability of biological experiments is not as good as that of physical or chemical experiments due to reasons such as operation, environment, and complexity of experimental objects. For example, it is difficult to guarantee the success of PCR on complex templates every time, and experiments on some cells are greatly affected by the state of the cells and the source of the cells.

Even many S-level articles have many experimental results that cannot be repeated.

In the end, Han Chunyu's plot was nothing.

But now, Pang Xuelin saw a brand new gene editing technology in the underground laboratory in Kempten.

This technique is called a heDNA editing tool.

This tool has an accuracy rate of more than 99.99999% when performing gene cutting, gene knock-in and knock-out, and there is almost no problem of off-target or mutation.

It is precisely because of the existence of this editing technology that the life science technology in the world of Resident Evil is so amazing.

This is also an important reason why Umbrella Corporation was able to develop the T virus.

"Professor Berkeley, how far has the laboratory's research on the T virus progressed?"

Pang Xuelin is very interested in the principle of T virus.

Berkeley pondered for a moment, and said: "Mr. Pang, we can basically confirm that the principle of the T virus is to change the regeneration of cells, so that cells can speed up their metabolism and repair ability, which also makes it difficult for many zombies to be killed by physical attacks. .When humans are infected with T virus, they are blocked by the immune system. White blood cells will try to kill the infected cells, which leads to a large amount of necrotic tissue in the human body. In order to repair the loss of tissue and restore the function of the immune system, a large amount of Food provides materials and a source of energy, so the infected person develops a strong appetite.

The appetites of these creatures are greatly stimulated. As long as they see, hear, and smell the existence of creatures, they will immediately rush to chase and kill the prey they are targeting. Because of this, after the zombies are infected with the T virus, they will become so violent.

It should be noted that under normal circumstances, the brain is protected by tissue isolation called the blood-brain barrier and does not come into contact with immune cells. Therefore, if the barrier is not damaged, the brain is expected to complete the mutation relatively well. Therefore, zombies can still walk upright and have the behavior of foraging. This is also the reason why the zombies will die completely after we shoot them in the brain..."

Pang Xuelin said: "Then how long do you think this crisis will last before it ends? Will those zombies die in the future?"

Berkeley said: "Zombie activities also require energy supplementation. At present, more than 99% of the people in the world have been infected with zombies, which has caused the food for zombies in cities to become increasingly scarce. When it comes to food supplements, zombies can only maintain their basic vitality by corroding their bodies. According to our estimates, zombies around the world will die on a large scale in five years or ten years. It is not known how many people will be sent down."

Pang Xuelin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

This is about the same as he guessed.

For those infected zombies, the best way is to wait for him to die slowly.

What really made Pang Xuelin feel troublesome were the careerists from umbrella companies like Spencer, Musku, and William Birkin.

Pang Xuelin could vaguely guess what Spencer and the others were thinking.

For Spencer and the others, after being infected with the T virus or the G virus, they have become monsters in the eyes of ordinary humans.

Even in a sense, they have become other species.

This is why Spencer and the others were able to launch a biochemical crisis on Earth without any scruples.

In the eyes of these people, the demise of human beings is nothing but the demise of alien races.

What they're really going to do is lead the people at Umbrella to a new, flawless evolutionary path.

Once they succeed, another human-like species will be born on the earth in the future.

They will also become the ancestors of this species and become gods in the true sense.

But if Pang Xuelin wanted to preserve human beings, sooner or later he would go against Spencer and the others.

Fortunately, Pang Xuelin still has some buffer time. The body modified by the genetic optimizer made Spencer and the others recognize Pang Xuelin's existence.

Therefore, as long as they don't make progress in the research of T/G virus, they won't attack Pang Xuelin easily.

"We must find a way to develop an antidote against the T virus. Only when Spencer and his men do not have the blessing of the T virus is the best time for us to counterattack."

After visiting the underground laboratory.

Pang Xuelin was about to say something to Spruce who was beside him, when he saw Jill hurried over and said loudly: "Professor Pang, it's not good, the umbrella company sent Dr. Here it comes, Alice is going to kill him, and Claire is trying to stop Alice now."

Pang Xuelin was slightly taken aback, and said, "Come on, let's go up and have a look."

Back on the ground, Pang Xuelin saw Alexander Ashford sitting in a wheelchair at the gate of the manor, Alice held a knife against Dr. Ashford's neck, and soldiers sent by the umbrella company to protect Ashford took With a gun pointed at Alice, Claire is trying to persuade the two. "

"What are you doing?"

Pang Xuelin stepped forward and directly grabbed Alice's long knife.

Alice struggled slightly, as if she was worried about hurting Pang Xuelin, so she didn't use much force.

She stared at Pang Xuelin and said, "This guy is not a good person, why are you protecting him?"

With a little force, Pang Xuelin snatched the knife from Alice, and said with a smile, "Dr. Ashford is one of my own."

Said, Pang Xuelin winked at Alice.

Alice frowned, looked at Pang Xuelin, and said after a while: "Remember what you told me a while ago."

After that, she turned and left.

Pang Xuelin turned his head, looked at Ashford and said, "Dr. Ashford, I'm sorry, my companion has a hot temper."

Ashford waved his hand, motioned his men to put down the guns, and said, "It's all right, Professor Pang, I'm glad to see you again."

Pang Xuelin smiled and said, "I'm also very glad to see you again. By the way, doctor, where is Angela? Why didn't she come?"

Pang Xuelin had a good impression of that smart little girl.

A wry smile appeared on Ashford's face, and he said, "Mr. Spencer was worried that Angela wouldn't adapt to life here, so he didn't let her come here."

Pang Xuelin was slightly taken aback, nodded and said, "So that's the case."