Chapter 226 - 129: Pattern
Jiang Miao took his own portion and handed the special meal to He Youwei. The last one was for Li Jianming.
After taking a bite of her food, He Youwei asked, "Mr. Jiang, how exactly will your treatment plan work?"
"First, we need to conduct a comprehensive scan of your genes. Then, we’ll identify the gene fragments linked to systemic lupus erythematosus and begin in-vitro cell cultivation."
"Is it similar to last year’s breakthrough with directed differentiation of stem cells into islet cells, followed by an in-vivo transplant?" He Youwei ventured.
Jiang Miao shook his head. "No. Systemic lupus erythematosus is a problem with the immune system. Even if we used stem cells to cultivate targeted immune cells, we couldn’t transplant them. Forcing a transplant would likely trigger a severe immune response, which would only aggravate the condition."
He Youwei nodded. That was a very real possibility.
"My plan is to suppress part of your immune function. With systemic lupus erythematosus, immune cells launch indiscriminate attacks against the body’s own cells. Fundamentally, your immune system is overactive, so we need to turn part of it off."
"Can that really be done?" He Youwei was stunned.
"You should take a look at my relevant papers," Jiang Miao reminded her with a smile.
"Your papers?" He Youwei had followed the relevant medical journals for years, and as far as she could recall, Jiang Miao had never published anything in them.
"The fundamental biological logic in humans and fish is the same. While I was researching artificial breeding techniques for eels, I discovered many systemically linked gene combinations. Some of them are applicable to humans—after all, the genetic sequences of humans and eels aren’t all that different. I’ve even experimented on my own genes. Through a specific diet and drug regimen, you can enhance a person’s immunity, vitality, and physical constitution to varying degrees."
"..." He Youwei was utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Li Jianming, who was busy shoveling food into his mouth, had no idea what the two of them were talking about. He was a law major, after all; his knowledge of biomedical science was cursory at best.
"I’ve named this mechanism ’gene systemics.’ Certain gene sequences form genomes, gene clusters, and gene families that produce specific functions. Intervening in these genes in specific ways is a bit like the systemic approach of traditional Chinese medicine. Of course, due to confidentiality concerns, my papers only cover a fraction of my findings."
By now, He Youwei understood. "Mr. Jiang, you’ve discovered the principles behind specific gene combinations—or perhaps, a new research methodology."
"Exactly." Jiang Miao had indeed discovered a set of underlying principles.
After reviewing the genetic data of the several hundred employees at his company, their thousands of relatives, and a wide variety of plants and animals, Jiang Miao already knew the functions of their gene fragments, genomes, gene clusters, and gene families. From this, he had managed to summarize 37 specific principles.
With these principles, even if he were to lose his appraisal panel now, he could detect the genetic sequence of any organism on Earth and, based on these rules, analyze 99.9% of its corresponding genetic functions.
He had tried it before. Without using the appraisal panel, he used instruments to sequence the genes of pigs, cows, sheep, praying mantises, cicadas, cobras, Xia Gu, barnacles, dandelions, and banyan trees. He then analyzed their genetic functions solely based on his principles and compared his results with the appraisal panel’s analysis.
The accuracy of his results was between 97% and 99%. Some of the initial errors were due to his own inexperience, but after he mastered the genetic principles, his accuracy rate consistently stayed above 99%.
In fact, this was to be expected.
After all, he already knew the answers and had no shortage of reference samples. Reverse-engineering the principles and formulas from the solutions was naturally quite easy.
Here’s an example.
It’s like successfully detonating numerous atomic and hydrogen bombs while also having a complete understanding of their designs. If you were then asked to summarize how to build them, it would be almost insultingly simple.
Remember, when America developed the first atomic bomb, it mobilized an astronomical amount of manpower and resources. For those who came after, however, the difficulty of developing and manufacturing one plummeted.
The most classic example is America’s successful detonation of the world’s first hydrogen bomb in 1952. Lucia followed close behind, detonating a "layer cake" design fusion bomb in 1953 and a true hydrogen bomb in 1955. It only took them three years to catch up.
Sometimes, a technological breakthrough is like a thin sheet of paper. Once someone has poked through it, it’s relatively easy for other powers to catch up if they devote all their efforts to it.
For example, many people think that China’s domestic lithography technology will never surpass the ASML Company.
In reality, this is a misconception.
If the country decided to throw caution to the wind and completely ignore international patent law, it could catch up very quickly. One should not underestimate the only country in the world with a complete industrial system.
The problem is that it has to abide by international patent law. The patent moat built by the ASML Company has blocked off many technological paths, which is why progress on domestic lithography machines has been so arduous.
Even so, this September, a domestic company completed the first deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography platform capable of producing 10-nanometer class chips.
But Jiang Miao had seen the complete, final answer first and was just reverse-engineering the principles and formulas. Naturally, there was no difficulty at all.
He Youwei, however, was unaware of all that. Right now, only one thought dominated her mind: ’If what Jiang Miao is saying is true, then this is a mountain of Nobel Prize-worthy discoveries right in front of me.’
He Youwei asked, "Mr. Jiang, I heard you’re applying for an honorary doctorate. Would you be interested in becoming a distinguished professor and doctoral advisor at Wudaokou University? If your genetic principles can be verified, I can use my connections to get your appointment fast-tracked."
"I’ve already promised Lion Mountain Agricultural University, my alma mater, that I would become a distinguished professor and doctoral advisor there."
"Oh?" He Youwei had already made up her mind. If Jiang Miao’s genetic principles were real, she wouldn’t do her internship at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Instead, she would apply to be his doctoral student.
After all, if Jiang Miao’s genetic principles were real, he was the kind of ultimate backer everyone in academia dreamed of finding.
’If I don’t latch onto a patron like that now, when will I ever get another chance?’