Chapter 198 Yuanfang, what do you think?
In the conference room, all members of Zhang Wei’s project team were present. In addition to Zhang Wei, there was also a postdoctoral fellow who had obtained a Ph.D., three Ph.D. candidates, three master’s degree candidates, and the old unlucky assistant. Professor Sam.
These eight people are the core staff. In addition, Professor Shi also gave eight undergraduate students, which is equivalent to assigning a follower to each person.
Zhang Wei has never led a team of so many people. With more than ten people, it is already considered a medium-sized scientific research project. And compared to when we were at Tsinghua University, the overall quality of the team has also been greatly improved.
After all, Princeton University is a world-famous university that attracts the world's top talents, while Qingbei is mainly for Chinese students. But China’s best talents may not necessarily choose Qingbei.
To put it bluntly, even Chinese people would definitely not choose Qingbei if they could come to study at Princeton University.
Let’s not talk about the postdoc and the unlucky Sam. Just talking about the six graduate students, their academic level is much higher than that of the graduate students at Tsinghua University.
Those eight undergraduate students are not rookies entering the laboratory for the first time. Several of them have been regular visitors to the laboratory since high school.
Americans can rely on recommendation letters when entering college. There is no need to study hard for the college entrance examination. Those who have the conditions can naturally be exposed to molecular biology experiments in high school.
The postdoc’s resume is also very impressive. He received his undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees from Princeton University. His supervisor is preparing to retire, so he has free time to participate in other projects.
As for the old unlucky Sam, Zhang Wei decided to give him a chance.
Although this guy is possessed by a degenerate spirit, he is an assistant professor after all, and his academic ability is really strong. It is no exaggeration to say that most of the full professors in the Department of Biology at Tsinghua University have academic abilities that are not as good as this one. Sam. At Sam's level, at any prestigious school in China, the worst he could do was be a subject leader.
Zhang Wei is really reluctant to give up such a good academic ability.
The main reason is that Zhang Wei’s scientific research relies entirely on copying papers. His real level is just a little Karami. If it really deviates from the scope of the paper, Zhang Wei will not be able to cope with it. When encountering problems, he only needs to You can pretend to be an expert without talking.
So he needs someone with real talent and knowledge to make up for this. Sam, the assistant professor, is obviously the most suitable person.
In the future, when Zhang Wei encounters a problem that Zhang Wei cannot handle, he can transform into Di Renjie. He obviously doesn't understand anything, but deliberately pretends to be very deep and asks "Yuanfang, what do you think?"
Yes Without Sam, Zhang Wei can act like he has everything under control and say, "Sam, what do you think?" ". When Sam has finished beeping, say "What Sam said makes sense", and it will be over!
There is another important reason. The research on induced pluripotent stem cells is different from the Zhang Wei's previous scientific research project, studying induced pluripotent stem cells, required the use of genetics
Such as chemistry, molecular biology, cell biology and other disciplines. With Zhang Wei's level of education, I can cope with it to some extent, but when it comes to genetics, Zhang Wei really can't cope with it.
Genetics is an interdisciplinary science, which is related to biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. There are close connections with many disciplines such as science and cell biology.
Therefore, genetics involves too many knowledge points, and these knowledge points constitute a large and complex theoretical system.
The key is that this subject is developing very fast, and new discoveries and new theories are emerging one after another. If you want to thoroughly learn this subject, you must not only learn the existing knowledge system, but also learn new ones all the time. Theory, many new discoveries even directly broke the old theoretical system.
If it were to directly break the old theoretical system, it would be easy to say that if the old is not gone, the new will not come. However, many new discoveries in genetics are dialectical theories, not the kind that you simply used to think about back then. Right or wrong, this tests people’s understanding.
It’s like I told you yesterday that tofu is sweet, and I told you tomorrow that tofu is salty. Sweet and salty are two opposite flavors, but sweet tofu curd and salty tofu curd both exist. Now I ask you again, is tofu curd sweet or salty? How would you answer?
If you don’t write 3,000 words to demonstrate the differences in taste between the North and the South, you won’t be able to answer this question!
For people like Zhang Wei who have some basic knowledge of biology, genetics is an area that he cannot understand. Ordinary people are even more confused when it comes to genetics.
This is also the reason why Zhang Wei accepted Sam. Matters related to genetics were left directly to Sam. To prevent Zhang Wei from revealing his secrets in front of the team.
As for Sam’s unlucky attribute, Zhang Wei feels that it is not unacceptable.
Anyway, Zhang Wei does not rely on luck when doing scientific research. No matter whether his luck is good or bad, he just copies papers. Other scholars are superstitious about luck and worry that Sam will bring bad luck, but Zhang Wei is not worried about this.
What's more, Zhang Wei is also very good at deceiving people.
...
In the classroom, members of Zhang Weixin’s team gathered together, sitting in groups.
Only the unlucky Sam sat alone in the front row.
Sam is an assistant professor after all, and everyone else calls him "sir". Normally, students would not sit with the teacher.
Of course, it is not ruled out that some people are afraid of Sam's bad luck, and they themselves will suffer the same.
A few undergraduates in the back row were discussing Sam's glorious past in low voices.
“Oops, unlucky Sam is also on this project team. This project is probably going to fail.”
“As far as I know, Sam has failed three projects in a row. The first time was because of 911, the second time was a flood and power outage, and the third time was a virus in the computer that burned out the hard drive. I don’t know what accident will happen this time.”
“The project leader dared to kill Sam. Recruiting into the team, it seems that our project team is very risky. I hope it’s just a problem with the equipment and nothing happens to anyone.” Accident insurance? ”
Several people were chatting in low voices, the classroom door opened, and Zhang Wei walked in holding a large box.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you should all know that I am a Chinese who grew up in China. Unlike those Chinese Americans living in the United States, we Chinese have our own traditions, such as Before starting a project, we have to pray to the gods! This is the first step we will take!" Zhang Wei said with a smile.
There happened to be a Chinese student at the scene, so someone next to him asked: "Is what Sir Zhang said true? Do you Chinese also pray to God? I heard that in China, most people do Atheist!"
"You must have never been to Chinatown. I have seen temples in Chinatown. Almost everyone in Chinatown goes in to pray," another person said.
The Chinese replied: "I heard from my mother that the Chinese do have a tradition of praying to gods, but the god they pray for is not God. It may be Buddha or Bodhisattva, or it may be Mazu."
"Mazu? What kind of deity is that?"
"It is the Chinese deity in charge of the ocean. She can bless people who go to sea to return safely." The Chinese went on to explain.
"She? In other words, Mazu is a woman! Then the one with the long beard and the knife in his hand should not be Mazu."
The speaker pointed On the podium in front, Zhang Wei took out a statue of a god from the box and placed it on the podium.
This statue of the god wears armor and holds the Qinglong Yanyue Sword. His eyes are like a torch and he is majestic. His beautiful beard makes him even more majestic and heroic, giving people an aura of calmness and self-power.
"Is this Guan Gong?" The Chinese young man was startled.
"What's going on? We are doing scientific research, not a community, so why do we still want to worship Guan Gong!"
Zhang Wei then said: "This is our Chinese god. His name is Guan Erye, you can ask him for anything, such as better grades, getting richer, good health, etc."
"Sir Zhang, I am a Jew, we do not believe in it. Other religions," one person said, raising his hand.
"Of course, belief is your freedom, and I don't force it." Zhang Wei smiled slightly, and then said: "But the god I invited today does not involve religious beliefs, and you don't need to believe in it. Him. You just need to tell him what you want."
"Is it that simple?" someone asked again.
"Yes, it's that simple!" Zhang Wei nodded and continued: "You can see how I do it!"
Zhang Wei said, coming to the statue of Guan Gong , clasped his hands together, and shouted loudly: "Master Guan, please bless my project for success! Okay, does anyone want to give it a try?"
"Is this the end?" Someone asked immediately.
"Of course not. After your wish comes true, you can express your gratitude to him, and that's it. If someone helps you, you say thank you. This is reasonable!" Zhang Wei said with a smile. .
Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. They didn't expect that praying to the Chinese gods was so simple. There were no complicated rituals, no need to recite scripture passages, and they only needed to express their wishes in one sentence.
This is not like praying, but like making a wish to a shooting star!
Seeing that everyone was hesitating, Zhang Wei looked directly at Sam and said, "Sam, do you want to give it a try? Mr. Guan will give you good luck."
Listen When he heard the word "good luck", Sam suddenly showed a heart-beating expression. This guy is now in a state of emergency and is seeking medical treatment. No matter what kind of god he is, as long as it can bring him good luck, he will not miss it.
I saw Sam walking forward, imitating Zhang Wei’s example, clasping his hands together, and shouting loudly: “Please give me some good luck!”
"Sam, time will come for you. Next one." Zhang Wei said.
With Sam as an example, a third person also stepped forward.
"Sir Zhang, can I ask for anything?" the man asked.
"Yes." Zhang Wei nodded.
“I want an office at Anderson Cancer Research Center!” the man said.
"It's not difficult to realize this wish. Mr. Guan will help you." Zhang Wei said.
Zhang Wei’s words are not without purpose. Induced pluripotent stem cells have made epic contributions to medical research. After this project is completed, the researchers involved in this project want to go to any medical research center in the United States. All is not a problem.
Immediately afterwards, the next person came forward: "I want the latest Dodge Challenger!"
"Your request is a bit low, maybe Mr. Guan Too lazy to talk to you. "Next!" "I want the New York Knicks to win the NBA championship!"
"The Knicks didn't even make the playoffs this year, how about we switch to the Spurs? Next!"
"I want to date Britney Spears!"
" Britney is already married. How about you wait two years and consider a girl named Swift? "
"I want to be a billionaire!"< br>
“Finally I met a reliable wish. This matter is really under the control of the second master.”
Everyone started lining up to make wishes to Mr. Guan, but the Chinese young man looked confused.
“In my impression, praying to God and worshiping Buddha is not like this!”
……
This statue of Mr. Guan is from Zhang Wei’s old building Got it from the market.
In the United States, it is not easy to find a statue of a Chinese god. Zhang Wei wandered around the flea market and finally found this statue of Guan Gong.
The United States was once a gathering place for the Hongmen. The Hongmen descendants all worshiped Guan Gong, so statues of Guan Gong can still be found.
The reason for engaging in worshiping gods is to find a reason for efficient scientific research in the future.
The induced pluripotent stem cells that Zhang Wei is going to work on this time are much more complicated than the previous scientific research projects. Therefore, Zhang Wei needs to find a reasonable excuse to explain his efficient scientific research.
The best excuse is undoubtedly good luck. I randomly picked an experimental direction and it succeeded!
And why are you so lucky? The answer is simple, I worship God! It is the gods who protect me!
Metaphysics is the end of science. I am already at the end of science, so success is a given!
Of course there is another reason, that is, there is an old hapless guy like Sam in the team!
Working with an old unlucky guy will reduce one's morale. Zhang Wei has to find a way to make up for it. Then the only way is to use metaphysics to defeat metaphysics!
There are still big differences between Chinese and Westerners in terms of worshiping gods.
Westerners worship and respect gods. In the eyes of Westerners, gods are sacred and inviolable. It is a kind of belief. As believers in gods, human beings should believe in gods without reservation and without asking for anything in return. of worshiping gods. Gods are omnipotent masters who can possess everything in the world.
But Easterners worship gods rather than gods. The reason why I worship you is to ask you to do things, ask for promotion, ask for wealth, ask for health, ask for marriage, ask for a son, etc.
If you can help me with things, then I will continue to serve you. But if I worship you and you don’t do anything for me, no matter what kind of god you are, you’ll all screw with me, make me angry, and smash your temple!
From this aspect, Eastern gods have KPIs. You have to complete the KPIs before the common people can regard you as a god.
……
Stem cells are also called totipotent cells because they have the potential to develop into various organs of the human body and can be used to regenerate, replace or repair some diseased cells and tissues of the human body. .
Embryonic stem cells are the most miraculous type of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are a type of cells isolated from early embryos. They have the potential to self-renew, think, and differentiate, so they are called "universal cells."
So human embryonic stem cells can differentiate into other cells in the human body. This is a miracle of medical research. However, the problem is that these cells must be cultured with human fertilized eggs, so they face huge medical ethical issues.
Therefore, scientists urgently need an alternative that can have the characteristics of embryonic stem cells without violating medical ethics.
The IPS cells that Zhang Wei wants to develop, whose full Chinese name is induced pluripotent stem cells, are the perfect alternative to embryonic stem cells.
The essence of IPS cells is to recode other cells through transgenic induction so that they have the characteristics of stem cells.
The other cells mentioned here can be skin cells, blood cells, or cells from other tissues.
How can this kind of transgene induction be achieved? First, we need to find specifically expressed genes that can be used to induce cells.
If there is no specificity, then there is no induction.
The first stage of the experiment is to identify specifically expressed genes from the EST database.
The so-called EST, the Chinese name is Expressed Sequence Tags, and the EST database is also part of the Human Genome Project important part.
After humans complete the sequencing of a gene, they must know which part of which tissue, cell, and part of the human body the gene comes from. At the same time, the gene must be given a name, otherwise the gene sequencing will be in vain.
This part of information is called expression sequence tags, and the place where expression sequence tags are stored is the database.
In layman's terms, expressed sequence tags are like a gene's ID card. It contains your name, when you were born, your residential address, etc.
The human gene database is extremely large. Selecting specifically expressed genes from the expressed sequence tag database is equivalent to selecting a specific group of people who meet certain conditions from the public security identity system.
Selecting these genes is the first step, and then biological, chemical, genetic and other methods must be used to determine whether these genes maintain biological functions in stem cells.
In other words, we need to know whether this gene can continue to function normally after entering the stem cells. If it doesn't function properly, that gene is useless.
Historically, this selection process lasted from 2003 to 2006, a full three years.
Of course Zhang Wei cannot spend three years screening genes. The paper he exchanged contains four transgenes that can save IPS cells, namely Oct3/4, Sox2, and c-Myc. and Klf4.
So Zhang Wei only needs to transfer these four genes into cells to obtain experimental results
However, there are so many genes that can function normally in stem cells. If Zhang Wei singles out It is definitely inexplicable to have tried these four and succeeded in the end.
So what should be done was still done. Zhang Wei selected another twenty genes, and then added these four genes to form twenty-four genes for the team to conduct experiments.
......
Dozens of white mice used in the experiment have arrived in front of the test bench.
“For this project, I have done some preliminary research before. I have selected the 24 genes that are most promising to induce responses as our first batch of experimental subjects. These genes, you should They are all relatively common genes."
Zhang Wei paused and then said: "As for the host of the induced cells, I plan to use fibroblasts."
"Sir Zhang, why fibroblasts? Why not use other cells as hosts?" Someone immediately raised their hands and asked.
“That’s a good question!” Zhang Wei smiled slightly, but complained in his heart, I don’t know why fibroblasts were chosen as induction cells! That’s what they wrote in the paper!
Zhang Wei looked at the unlucky Sam with his expression unchanged and his heart not beating: "Sam, come and tell us why we chose fibroblasts as the host of the induced cells!"< br>
Sam was startled. He thought Zhang Wei would directly tell the reason, but he didn't expect Zhang Wei to say "Yuanfang, what do you think!"
For an assistant professor, this question is not It was difficult to answer, so it was Sam who answered: "We all know that the main function of fibroblasts is to produce proteins such as collagen.
In addition, fibroblasts can also synthesize and secrete matrix components such as glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins, which are essential for maintaining the structure and function of tissues.
During the process of tissue repair and regeneration, fibroblasts can proliferate and migrate to the damaged site to participate in tissue repair and reconstruction.
In addition, fibroblasts also have a certain degree of plasticity. Under specific physiological or pathological conditions, fibroblasts can transform into other types of cells, such as myofibroblasts.
Value-added and plasticity are also characteristics of stem cells. If we want to induce cells to produce the characteristics of stem cells, we naturally need to choose cells that are similar to stem cells as the host of the induced cells. ”
“I see, my knowledge has improved. "Zhang Wei thought to himself, but said:
"Sam's answer is very comprehensive. You should understand why I choose fibroblasts as the inducing cell carrier, right? Do you have any other questions?"
"Sir Zhang, may I ask what carrier we should use to transfer the gene Introduced into cells?" This question came from the postdoctoral fellow, and he obviously asked a critical question.
“I plan to use retrovirus as a gene carrier.” Zhang Wei replied.
“I think it would be better to use lentiviral vectors? Compared with retroviruses, lentiviruses can not only infect dividing cells, but also non-dividing cells.
And Lentiviral vectors have strong post-transcriptional gene silencing effects, and the introduced target genes can be expressed continuously in host cells for a long time," the postdoctoral fellow said.
"You mentioned a very critical issue. In fact, before the experiment, I was also struggling with whether to use retrovirus as the gene vector or lentivirus as the gene vector. I even thought about using both together. < br>
But considering the funding issue, in order to save costs, after much thought, I finally decided to use your transcription virus as the gene vector. Sam, please tell me why we choose retrovirus as the vector!”
Zhang Wei looked at the unlucky Sam again and continued Yuanfang, what do you think?
Sam was stunned again. You are the person in charge of the project, and you are also the one who decides the direction of the experiment. Why do you keep asking me if you don't answer it yourself?
I am an unlucky guy, but I am not a tool person!
But Sam still has real talent and learning after all, so this problem won't trouble him.
“Lentivirus, as a vector, has a disadvantage, that is, it needs to produce live virus in packaging cells and determine the virus titer...”
Sam, the unlucky tool man, gushed. Start explaining.
(End of this chapter)