Chapter 220 My name is Zhang Wei, the Zhang Wei you know!

Chapter 220 My name is Zhang Wei, the Zhang Wei you know!

Zhang Wei felt that today’s trip was in vain.

Just to watch others do an IPS cell induction experiment, I came here half an hour early and waited. It was like a loss to my grandma’s house. If you have the time, find a cool place and watch Sakura girls in short skirts. Not bad!

But then I thought again, there really aren’t many girls to see at the University of Tokyo. When I walked around the campus, they were basically all old men.

Japanese universities have had more men than women for a long time. Among them, the situation in private universities is better, with the proportion of female students reaching 30%, while the proportion of female students in public universities is less than a quarter. At top universities like the University of Tokyo, the proportion of female students is less than 20%.

20% of girls, even excluding the ugly ones, really have nothing to show for their beauty.

"The experimental display has just begun. It would be a waste of time for me to stay. Otherwise, I would have left early. I will go to the comic club for a walk, and then I will ask about the new comic award in the fall. I will also participate. , maybe I will be spotted by some magazine and make my debut!”

Zhang Wei was thinking about leaving early, and Special Researcher Takahashi began to introduce it incessantly.

First, he introduced the importance of IPS cells, then introduced the principles of inducing IPS cells, and then talked about the experimental procedures, which are basically what Zhang Wei wrote in his paper.

Everyone in the observation area listened very carefully, but Zhang Wei looked absent-minded. He looked at his watch and the location of the exit from time to time, obviously trying to escape while others were not paying attention.

But Zhang Wei's look around caught the attention of Special Researcher Takahashi.

No way, Zhang Wei and Lu Yunxiang, two big men over 1.8 meters tall, would have a hard time not standing out among the crowd of young people.

In fact, even in China, those born in the 1980s are considered tall if they are over 1.8 meters tall. In 2005, only 3% of Chinese men were taller than 1.8 meters. There are even fewer people in Japan who are over 1.8 meters tall.

Lu Yunxiang is from the northwest, and his family conditions are good. He has not lacked nutrition since he was a child, so he has naturally grown taller. Zhang Wei is from Jiaodong, which is the place with the highest per capita height in the country, and is definitely worthy of the title of Shandong Man.

Putting these two people in a crowd, they definitely stand out from the crowd.

But this crane is still making small movements. As long as Takahashi is not blind, he can see it.

Although the mask covered half of Zhang Wei's face, through Zhang Wei's look at his watch from time to time and his behavior of looking around, no matter how stupid Takahashi was, he could understand that this guy's thoughts were not here at all.

A bit of anger suddenly arose in Takahashi's heart. I am patiently explaining here, but you look like you are distracted. Do you disrespect me?

But out of professional ethics, Takahashi continued speaking patiently.

“In the original paper on inducing IPS cells, the author used retrovirus as a vector to randomly insert foreign genes into the host genome, but this would make the induced IPS cells potentially carcinogenic.

In our research, we improved this step. We used adenovirus instead of retrovirus, and successfully induced IPS cells. This is also the biggest highlight of my demonstration experiment this year! ”

After an introduction, Takahashi entered the experiment.

Zhang Wei saw that everyone was staring at the experiment and felt that no one was paying attention to him, so he planned to escape by peeing .

However, at this moment, Lu Yunxiang poked Zhang Wei with his elbow.

“Brother, the IPS cells he made are the ones you made! "Lu Yunxiang asked.

"That's it." Zhang Wei nodded.

“That one you did at Princeton?”

“I didn’t do anything else at Princeton!”

Next to me, Zhou Zilong heard the four words “Princeton” He immediately asked curiously: "Zhang Wei, are you talking about the Princeton University in the United States? Have you ever been to Princeton?"

"In the first half of this year, I viagra stayed at Princeton for half a year. time." Lu Yunxiang answered for Zhang Wei.

"Are you going to be an exchange student?" Zhou Zilong looked envious. In his opinion, being an exchange student at one of the world's top universities like Princeton is more prestigious than coming to the University of Tokyo.

"Viagra is for scientific research. He has launched a scientific research project at Princeton." Lu Yunxiang said.

"Being able to participate in scientific research projects at Princeton University, Zhang Wei, you really hide your secrets!" Zhou Zilong said with envy as before.

It is common for exchange students to participate in scientific research projects or academic seminars. At the University of Tokyo, there are also many excellent exchange students who can temporarily participate in scientific research projects, so Zhou Zilong regarded Zhang Wei as such How could he have imagined that Zhang Wei went to Princeton University to be the project leader and developed Nobel Prize-level IPS cells.

Lu Yunxiang didn’t know much about Zhang Wei’s situation at Princeton, and he didn’t explain it to Zhou Zilong.

He then asked: "I remember that the paper on IPS cells was published after you returned to China in June. It has only been three months, and the Japanese have already produced it. Is this considered fast or slow?" < br>
“Under normal circumstances, after the paper is published, if the experiment goes well, repeated experimental verification can be completed within one month. Mice grow very fast, especially the mice used in experiments, which are specially cultured The growth cycle is shorter than that of ordinary mice.

Under normal circumstances, mice that can be used in experiments only have a pup period of two weeks, and they can mature in about a month and have certain reproductive capabilities. Ability. This kind of mouse can gain one-tenth of its body weight in one day. Therefore, one month is enough to induce IPS cells and then inject them into the mouse to develop into various tissue cells of the mouse. .

Calculating it this way, the Japanese researchers should have completed the verification of repeated experiments at least last month, and now they dare to show it, which shows that their technology is relatively proficient. "Zhang Wei. Explained slowly.

"I see." Lu Yunxiang nodded, and then asked: "That Takahashi said that the vector they use is different from yours. You use a retrovirus, and they use an adenovirus. Is it more efficient than yours?" Advanced? "

"Theoretically, it is true. Adenovirus can reduce the carcinogenic potential of IPS cells, but it is more difficult to induce. I didn't consider using adenovirus at the time, but in order to speed up the process. Because of the speed of the experiment, retrovirus was used.

As you know, my experimental funds at that time were all provided by Professor Cengshi, so I had to pursue the progress of the experiment and produce results in the fastest time, otherwise I would not be able to do it. It’s not easy for the professor to explain,” Zhang Wei continued.

“Can you also make the adenovirus he used?” Lu Yunxiang asked next.

Zhang Wei answered: "Actually, for me, using adenovirus as a vector is relatively backward. This method can reduce the risk of cancer, which is similar to using plasmids.

After I returned to Tsinghua University, my new project was to directly use transcription factor proteins to achieve induction effects. This is equivalent to directly realizing the reprogramming process of cells. This is the safest IPS cell. "

The conversation between the two fell into Zhou Zilong's ears, and the more he listened, the more mysterious it became.

"From what you say, Zhang Wei has also done IPS cell induction. experiment? "Zhou Zilong asked curiously.

"Not only have I done experiments, in the field of IPS cells, no one can compare with me Viagra! "Lu Yunxiang said in an awesome voice.

Just as Zhou Zilong was about to continue asking, Special Researcher Takahashi who was doing the experiment suddenly stopped what he was doing, then raised his head and stared at the three of them fiercely. .

Immediately afterwards, Takahashi said in English; "Those three students in the second row, if you have any unique insights into my experimental demonstration, you might as well come to the stage and tell me!"

...

After entering the experiment, the discussion in the observation area never stopped.

Since this kind of demonstration experiment is open to observation, it is natural for on-site visitors to discuss it.

Academic matters cannot be done behind closed doors, and it is impossible for everyone to have the same idea. At this time, discussions are needed to understand knowledge and expand thinking.

Takahashi was also used to this situation. He turned a deaf ear to all the trivial sounds in the observation area and was completely immersed in the experiment.

For a qualified experimenter, it is a basic quality to be free from external interference during experiments. As he is only one step away from becoming an assistant professor, he has naturally already developed this skill.

Until several tonal sounds entered his ears. Takahashi instantly recognized that this was Chinese!

Although Takahashi has never studied Chinese, he can still distinguish Chinese. After all, Chinese has tones and is easier to distinguish from other languages.

"Some people speak Chinese, and there are Chinese people in the viewing area!" Takahashi suddenly felt a little depressed in his heart, and a very painful memory began to circle in his mind.

It was 2004, and the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the University of Tokyo, where Takahashi worked, launched a big project, which was induced stem cells, also known as IPS cells.

The project leader at the time promised Takahashi that once the IPS cell development was successful, not only would he be directly promoted to assistant professor, but the person in charge would also give priority to recommending him for promotion to associate professor.

Knowing that he could get a quick promotion and salary increase, Takahashi devoted himself wholeheartedly to the research of IPS cells, spending time in the laboratory day and night, conducting research.

From the initial identification of specifically expressed genes, to the subsequent analysis of genes, and then to the application of biochemistry, cell biology and genetics methods to determine their biological functions in stem cell maintenance. Takahashi participated in every step of development and was always the most active one.

The project team also tried several viruses as vectors, and finally selected adenovirus, conducted preliminary experiments, and achieved some results.

By 2005, the project had made great progress, and the identification of specifically expressed genes had been narrowed down to less than fifty, ready for screening experiments.

According to the speed of the screening test, the gene screening work can be completed in less than a year. If induced cells are produced, biological experiments can be entered.

According to the growth cycle of mice, after entering the biological experiment, the results will be available in less than a month. Including the time to write the paper, the results will be published in about mid-2006, and Takahashi can also be successfully promoted to assistant professor, and then wait two or three years before being promoted to associate professor. His career can be said to be bright in one year.

Just when Takahashi was looking forward to a better future, a paper in Science shattered Takahashi's dream. IPS cells were actually developed by other scholars! In the field of scientific research, this situation is not uncommon, especially for some popular scientific research projects. There must be many laboratories developing them. It is normal for others to develop faster than others.

It's like a long-distance race. The competition is not about who starts first, nor who puts in more effort during the race, but who reaches the finish line first. The gold medal always goes to the one who reaches the finish line first.

But this was the first time Takahashi encountered this situation, and he could not bear the consequences.

For the same scientific research project, if someone else produces the results first, it means that all the efforts of more than a year ago have been in vain! There is no hope of promotion or salary increase.

Thinking about the past year, I have worked overtime until early in the morning every day, but in the end it was all in vain. I am really depressed, and the pain is really painful.

Takahashi also remembers the signature on the paper, the person who made him work in vain for a year - Zhang Wei!

Takahashi is no stranger to this Chinese name. This name seems to have appeared out of nowhere in the biological world. In just half a year, three heavyweight papers, namely nucleoside modification, genetic scissors and IPS cells, were published. paper.

When Zhang Wei published his first two papers, Takahashi felt that this scholar was very talented, and he became a small fan of Zhang Wei. However, after the third paper was published, Takahashi felt despair. hit.

Since then, whenever Takahashi sees papers published by Chinese scholars or reads news about Chinese scholars, he can’t help but think of this painful memory.

At this time, when Takahashi heard someone speaking Chinese, he immediately realized that there were Chinese students in the observation area, and the past failure experience also appeared in Takahashi's mind.

Subconsciously, Takahashi glanced at the viewing area and saw that the person speaking Chinese was the big man who was absent-minded just now!

It was also at this moment that a feeling of resentment lingered in Takahashi's heart.

As a result, Special Researcher Takahashi, who was doing experiments, suddenly stopped what he was doing, then raised his head and stared at the three of them fiercely.

"When I spoke just now, you were absent-minded and disrespected me. The key is that you are still Chinese! It is that Chinese named Zhang Wei who made more than a year of my hard work go to waste!"

The more Takahashi thinks about it, the angrier he becomes. His resentment towards Zhang Wei is now transferred to Zhang Wei. Of course, Takahashi doesn’t know that the Zhang Wei in front of him is Zhang Wei!

I saw Takahashi saying in English; "Those three students in the second row, if you have any unique insights into my experimental demonstration, you might as well come to the stage and tell me!"

Seeing Gao Qiao's sudden words, the viewing area fell silent, and then everyone's eyes were focused on Zhang Wei and the other three.

Zhang Wei, who was named by Takahashi, was a little surprised. He knew that there were many people discussing the experiment in the observation area. Why did Takahashi specifically name him? Could it be that he was specifically targeting himself?

"Is it possible that Takahashi has a grudge against me? But I don’t know this person at all! I don’t know any Japanese scholars either. I shouldn’t have any enemies in Japan, right? You can’t say that, the country I will never forget my hatred for the rest of my life!"

Zhang Wei was wondering if he had offended anyone recently, while Takahashi who was sitting opposite him became even more arrogant when he saw that the three of them were silent.

“If you don’t have any unique insights, just read and study hard. Don’t chat all the time and miss this precious opportunity! This is the latest and most cutting-edge scientific research result in the world. An experiment of this level cannot be put anywhere. In China, you won’t see it in twenty years!”

Takahashi raised his face as he spoke, with a sense of arrogance in his bones.

“This Takahashi also knows that we are Chinese! But that’s normal, few Japanese are as tall as me. By the way, he deliberately clicked on me, is it because I am Chinese? Japan’s right wing There are many elements, maybe this Takahashi is one of them!"

Zhang Wei frowned slightly, and then looked at the two people on the left and right.

Zhou Zilong on the left lowered his head slightly. He was probably used to the condescending tone of Japanese scholars when facing Chinese students.

Lu Yunxiang looked unhappy, and he directly replied: "Then do you know that the latest and most cutting-edge scientific research results in the world were made by us Chinese! If it weren't for us Chinese Make IPS cells, how can you show the experiment here today? ”

Lu Yunxiang has been a proud man since he was a child. Apart from being frustrated by Zhang Wei, Ye Haotian and autistic people, he has never suffered such grievances in his daily life.

What's more, this guy is a second-generation rich man. When talking to rich people, he is naturally tough. If he doesn't accept it, he will directly attack him.

Takahashi sneered when he saw Lu Yunxiang refuting himself. He said, "It seems that this classmate knows very much about IPS cells. Then you might as well tell me about the induction experiments of IPS cells. What are the induced genes? "

In the introduction just now, Takahashi only said that four induced genes should be introduced into the target host, but he did not say which four genes. At this time, he planned to use this information gap to attack Lu Yunxiang.

In a competition between scholars, the best way is to defeat your opponent with academics.

Of course Lu Yunxiang didn't know about this problem, so he had no choice but to look at Zhang Wei.

Of course Zhang Wei could not let his younger brother be bullied, so he said: "The four induced genes used are Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. Among them, c-Myc is an oncogene. That's why IPS cells are carcinogenic."

"I really know it!" Takahashi was slightly surprised, and then asked: "Then do you know why these four genes are used?"< br>
“Because these four genes all have stem cell-specific expression, let’s talk about the Oct3/4 gene first, which is one of the POU transcription factors. It is located on human chromosome 6. This gene is expressed in embryonic stem cells and Strong expression in germ cells is crucial to maintaining the pluripotency and self-renewal capabilities of cells..."

Zhang Wei directly introduced these four genes.

Takahashi was shocked again, and then he asked the next question, but Zhang Wei could still answer it.

At this time, Takahashi has discovered that Zhang Wei has a theoretical basis for IPS cells, and he must have understood the relevant content of this technology.

Since theory can’t hold you back, let me talk about practice!

So Takahashi asked about the experiment again.

However, what Takahashi did not expect was something that could not be troubled by the Chinese in front of him. Zhang Wei could even tell the experimental data in detail.

While talking, Zhang Wei actually started to comment on Takahashi's experiment.

“You used adenovirus as a vector to reduce the carcinogenic risk of IPS cells as much as possible, but in fact your research is of little significance.

There was a paper not long ago , introduced that using plasmids as vectors to induce IPS cells can also reduce the risk of cancer

If I were you, I would not focus the experiment on the induction of IPS cells. It is to try the application technology of IPS cells, such as trying to use IPS cells to induce various tissue cells.

In this regard, the University of Cambridge in the UK has already started to try to use IPS cells to induce dopamine neurons. Thus treating neurological diseases such as ALS. ”

Zhang Wei made Takahashi stay on the spot with all his words. He never expected that Zhang Wei knew so much about IPS cells and could even tell the future development trend of IPS cells and the research and development progress of various foreign universities!

To know this information, even the top professors at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine don’t know it!

Zhang Wei went to participate in the commemoration of the Year of Einstein. Even Hawking saw it. Naturally, other well-known scholars also showed their faces by the way. Of course, he also learned about the research directions of IPS cells in universities in various countries. .

Zhang Wei is the inventor of IPS cells after all. Those who study the application of IPS cells will definitely want to hear his opinions.

After a brief gaffe, Takahashi finally came to his senses. He stared at Zhang Wei and asked, "Are you an international student? Are you a graduate student?"

"No, I'm an exchange student!"

"Exchange student, then he's not a graduate student." Takahashi said relieved. Undergraduate students have little academic ability, which is not enough evidence.

Then Takahashi put on a high profile again and asked: "Which university are you from?"

"China, Tsinghua University!"

"No wonder. ! That Zhang Wei is from Tsinghua University!" Takahashi showed an expression of realization and asked like an elder mentor: "You must have read Professor Zhang Wei's paper, right?"

Zhou Zilong was obviously taken aback when he heard the title "Professor Zhang Wei". And Lu Yunxiang was holding back a bad smile.

"The Zhang Wei you are talking about is the one who developed IPS cells, right?" Zhang Wei chuckled and said, "I have read all his papers word for word. I almost memorized it!”

“It’s so verbose!” Takahashi said something in Japanese, and then said in English: “But you also know a lot of experimental data, which is in the paper. , but it’s not reflected! Did you participate in Professor Zhang Wei’s scientific research project?”

“I mainly watch people do experiments, and then look at the experimental results,” Zhang Wei replied with a smile. .

“Let me just say that exchange students are generally undergraduates and cannot become experimenters on such an important project. However, it is a valuable opportunity to observe experiments and witness the birth of major scientific research results with your own eyes!”

At this time, Takahashi no longer had the arrogance he had just now.

As for scholars, they can’t handle each other academically, and they can’t gain any momentum.

If you are overwhelmed academically again, you will have to give in immediately!

Takahashi looked Zhang Wei up and down. Under the mask, he could not see his face clearly, and then he asked: "This classmate, what is your name?"

"My name is Zhang Wei!" Zhang Wei replied cheerfully.

"Zhang Wei?" Takahashi was stunned again. Isn't this exactly the nightmare name?

"A duplicate name, right? It must be a duplicate name. The name Zhang Wei should be very common in China! Isn't this a coincidence!" Takahashi thought to himself.

Zhang Wei continued: "Don't get me wrong, I, Zhang Wei, am not another Zhang Wei, but the Zhang Wei you know!"

(End of this chapter)