Digital Kingdom

Zhao Ziming sensitively noticed the expressions of his subordinates and asked, "What's the matter, what is it?"

He Gan thought a little and said directly:

"The biggest problem now is that the number of people in the experiment is insufficient, which greatly delays the progress of the project. Although we use optogenetic, although it can precisely control neurons, create false emotions, and control behavior, the research efficiency is still too low."

Zhao Ziming heard this, but did not speak.

As the boss of a technology company, he is deeply involved in cutting-edge technology and reads a lot of technology news every day. The Digital Group has a dedicated office to collect global technology hotspots for him, and has hired experts in related fields for consultation.

He is no stranger to optogenetics related research.

Since its birth in 2005, remarkable progress has been made, the most notable of which is that scientists have invented a protein called "photochannel protein".

The characteristic of this protein is that it will be affected by light. Once exposed to light, it will stimulate neurons to fire, and to some extent it can be said to be able to manipulate the brain.

He Gan continued: "In my plan, invasive methods can achieve the research goals more efficiently and accurately. However, too few people are willing to undergo surgery."

Zhao Ziming nodded.

Compared with non-invasive gentle, invasive brain-computer research, the biggest drawback is this, "cranial opening".

A metaphor can be used to illustrate the advantages of "intrusive".

For observers of the universe, if the technology is mature, they can launch satellites and spacecraft into space to land on Mars and the moon, and they will surely bring back precious data. The same logic can also be applied to the brain.

If it can enter the brain, it will definitely get the experimental data faster and more accurately.

He Gan went on to say: "Even if I use vascular stent electrodes to avoid craniotomy, reduce trauma, and not break the blood-brain barrier, not many people are willing to participate."

Zhao Ziming naturally has data. Since the establishment of the brain-computer company, fewer than 100 people are truly willing to undergo craniotomy. Among them, more than half are stroke and paralyzed patients. There are only a handful of healthy experimenters.

However, other people cannot be blamed. After all, the risk of craniotomy is too great. If nothing else, the blood-brain barrier is a major barrier.

The so-called blood-brain barrier refers to the barrier between the blood plasma and brain cells formed by brain capillary walls and glial cells, and the barrier between plasma and cerebrospinal fluid formed by the choroid plexus. Its importance can be called a move. whole body.

Zhao Ziming looked at the experiment and said in deep thought: "I remember you said before, attaching electrodes to the vascular stent, so that the electrodes can be implanted through the venous blood vessels, along the blood vessels into deeper body parts, without the need for huge implant surgery. ."

He Gan: "Yes, this approach is very traumatic, but the comforting effect is not great. Professor Li Bo even invented a neural lace like a net bag, which can be implanted into the brain through minimally invasive surgery, but it still can't eliminate people's troubles. concern."

Zhao Ziming naturally knows that Li Bo is not Li Bo. He Gan said Li Bo refers to the famous nanoscientist, Professor Charles Lieber of Harvard University.

"Neural lace?" Zhao Ziming was a little curious,

He Gan briefly explained: "They arranged the electrodes on a net bag, and without a craniotomy, the syringe can inject the net bag into the brain. Once the net bag is injected, the net will be opened and can be attached very softly. It is combined on the cerebral cortex to collect high-quality EEG signals. This kind of net bag-like electrodes is undergoing human experiments."

Zhao Ziming suddenly remembered, and asked: "The name'Neurolace' is a bit familiar, does it come from a science fiction novel?"

He Gan shook his head in a daze, and the pretty female assistant on the side couldn't help but accept: "Yes, the "neural lace" in the novel "Civilization" can upload and download people's ideas."

Zhao Ziming responded.

He Gan introduced: "Sun Yu, Ph.D. from University of Akron, Ohio, is mainly engaged in the research of graphene nanocomposites."

Zhao Ziming gave her a smile to show her encouragement.

Today, not to mention Akron University, the 25 new Ivy League graduates in the United States have joined the Digital Group.

It is not only Chinese, but even includes a considerable number of foreign scientists, the overall number has exceeded one hundred.

If Sun Yu weren't He Gan's assistant, Zhao Ziming wouldn't even write down her name, even though she stood in the crowd, quite intellectually beautiful.

Zhao Ziming turned his attention back to He Gan, and then asked: "The biggest obstacle now is the insufficient number of experiments?"

He Gan nodded: "We face many challenges, such as the difficulty of signal acquisition, because the cerebral cortex electrode (EcoG) is only covered on the surface of the brain and is not completely inserted into the brain tissue, so the collected signal is relatively weak. It is weaker and cannot achieve one-to-one acquisition of a single neuron. The resolution is limited, but these can be overcome. Some problems do not even need to be dedicated to it. As the experiment progresses, they will disappear. ."

Zhao Ziming did not speak and continued to watch the experiment.

Human experiments have always been difficult, and the pressure in China is particularly huge. Once exposed and hyped, it is not a trivial matter.

In particular, craniotomy experiments are indeed dangerous, and it should be said that failure is a high probability.

He Gan: "Next, we will continue to invest heavily in recruiting experimenters and cooperate with medical institutions across the country to see if there are any available opportunities to expand the number of experiments."

Zhao Ziming gritted his teeth, it was impossible, only to find a way out.

To achieve something, you must give up something.

Digital Group has become a world giant, a multinational company, and it is time to use the power of capital.

In the capital world.Wielding a big stick of gold and yuan, almost invincible.

Not at home, East Asia is not bad, even India, Africa, Eastern Europe...

"In terms of funding, are there any difficulties?" Zhao Ziming proactively asked in order to conceal his thoughts.

Before the dust settled, he was always cautious so as not to give people hope and bring disappointment.

Since it is difficult to solve the "number of people" problem at the moment, we can only comfort the other party from the funding.

He Gan will naturally not be polite. The funding has never been enough, only to fight for, fight for, and fight again. It can even be said that as long as the money is in place, the "experimental population" is not a problem.

After visiting the laboratory enthusiastically, Zhao Ziming again reiterated the confidentiality discipline and promised He Gan to solve the problem as soon as possible, and later left the brain-computer company.