Chapter 002 Memories
It's late at night and everyone is asleep.
The wilderness of the small mountain village is exceptionally peaceful.
There was the sound of dripping rain and the occasional north wind blowing through the mountains and forests.
In the bedroom on the second floor, Li Qingye was half lying on the bed, thinking with his eyes closed .
The past is still vivid in my mind.
Father……
Mother……
Big Brother...
Figures, fragments, and echoes filled his mind.
…
Near Jiangcheng University , Li Qingye opened a cosmetics company with the help of more than 20 million yuan sponsored by her mother.
In fact, this company is just a brand. In order to avoid used the company's shell to conveniently set up a research institute.
However, the cosmetics company's laboratory spent about 22 million to purchase a number of scientific instruments for biochemical laboratories.
He previously studied biochemistry and molecular biology at Jiangcheng University, completed his master's degree in 2015, and then studied for a doctorate under the same mentor.
This laboratory was the graduation gift that Li Qingye’s mother gave to him 15 years ago.
After that, he continued to study for his doctorate while researching things that interested him in his own laboratory until July 2016.
An old classmate who had gone to the University of Copenhagen for a doctorate sent him a gene sequence test report, saying that the gene sequence was detected through samples extracted from an ancient human remains excavated from a glacier in the Alps.
Li Qingye was very interested in this. According to his analysis, this ancient human was most likely a Neanderthal.
While working day and night on his research, Li Qingye suddenly had an idea. He took out the genetic samples he had collected before (collected in surrounding towns through free physical examinations) and analyzed the 300 genetic samples on hand.
During the analysis process, he extracted all the genetic fragments related to Neanderthals from the genetic samples.
After comparing and piecing together the Neanderthal gene fragments in these samples, it was found that there was a lot of overlap with the Neanderthal gene sequences sent by my classmates.
Li Qingye is very excited about this. If these pieced-together Neanderthal gene fragments can be reassembled, is it possible to restore Neanderthals?
In the process of further in-depth research, Li Qingye used gene editing technology (third-generation technology: CRISPR-Cas9) to insert these gene fragments into mouse stem cells, hoping to combine these genes.
However, the difficulty of this gene editing experiment exceeded his imagination. After all, the gene fragments left by Neanderthals in the gene sequence of modern Homo sapiens are too fragmented and scarce.
Soon the mouse stem cells in the laboratory were exhausted.
Seeing that the experiment had made no progress, Li Qingye felt that he was daydreaming.
Without stem cell materials, we can only choose other materials as the matrix, and carry out tedious and complicated gene editing in more than a dozen animal stem cells.
Time passed by unknowingly and it was October 2016.
As usual, the first thing I did every day when I woke up was to observe the edited animal stem cells. I thought it would be another day of gaining nothing, until the 57th culture medium.
Under the microscope.
The Turritopsis dohrnii stem cells in culture medium No. 57 actually redeveloped into the polyp form. What's even more surprising is that the polyp has undergone some changes.
After further testing and analysis, a new enzyme was discovered in the Turritopsis dohrnii.
Li Qingye studied this enzyme while conducting repeated experiments.
One month later.
Looking at the hundreds of gene-edited Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish swimming slowly in the aquarium, and the light blue liquid in the test tube in the hand.
"This thing can actually turn part of the genes into fake genes, but..." Li Qingye looked at several cages not far away with surprise and joy.
There are several domestic pigs kept in iron cages, all of which show varying degrees of aging, organ lesions and genetic diseases.
If that were all, Li Qingye might not be too interested in this enzyme. More importantly, this enzyme can also activate some recessive genes.
"If this enzyme can be made more controllable and have fewer side effects, then maybe..." He was evaluating the value of this enzyme in his mind.
Thinking of the huge potential in this test tube, Li Qingye was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night. He continued to study this enzyme day and night, and at the same time began to try to adjust the gene sequence of gene editing to see if he could synthesize new enzymes or compounds.
In fact, Li Qingye is a rather contradictory person when it comes to his interest in scientific research.
He has lived under the protection of his parents since he was a child. At the same time, his eldest brother is also very capable. His parents originally hoped that he could go to Peking University to study law, and then pass the civil service examination, while his eldest brother would continue to develop in business, and the two brothers could complement each other.
It’s a pity that Li Qingye is very opposed to this arrangement.
For the first time, he went against his father's arrangement and enrolled in the biochemistry and molecular biology major at Jiangcheng University just to prove himself.
After all, he might not be able to surpass his father and elder brother in business in his entire life, and the intrigues in officialdom made him feel very disgusted and uncomfortable.
After much thought, the only option left is the field of science.
Although I had the help of my mother, talent and hard work are also very important for achievements in science.
This unexpected discovery made Li Qingye feel very excited because he could finally prove himself to everyone.
In order to improve this special enzyme, he did not even go back to Pengcheng to see his parents during the New Year of 2017. Instead, he continued to stay in the laboratory in Jiangcheng, working on research day and night.
until……
That day, a phone call brought devastating news.
He was so heartbroken that he couldn't help but burst into tears.
At that moment, his life became gloomy. The scientific achievements that shocked the world, the milestones in human evolution history, and the proof of himself to the world all became meaningless.
If possible, he would rather give up this achievement in exchange for his parents' safety.
Maybe people are just that kind of cheap.
Only when you lose something, you will appreciate it.
Li Qingye, like a walking corpse, returned to Pengcheng and saw only the cold bodies of his parents. Regret, despair and grief filled his heart, making him feel like he had lost his soul.
The night deepens.
The rain outside the window stopped and the north wind became much quieter.
Li Qingye, who had nightmares one after another, slept until noon the next day in exhaustion.
For half a month, he saw no one except an old lady , and he stayed alone in his house.
Until the afternoon of April 13th.
The tutor's phone rang. Li Qingye, with a stubbled beard and dull eyes, looked at the ringing sound and answered it feebly:
"Hello……"
"Aoba, I'm sorry. I'm planning to go to America for an academic visit soon. Would you like to come with me? It would be nice to change your mood."
However, Li Qingye, who was disheartened, had no intention of going abroad: "Boss, I plan to stop taking the doctoral entrance exam..."
"What? Qingye, you have great talent. Wouldn't it be a pity to give up like this? You need to think it over carefully! Don't regret it later." The instructor advised with concern.
"No, it's all meaningless."
"..." The instructor on the other end of the phone was silent for a while, then continued, "How about this! You are still young anyway, so you can rest and adjust your mentality in the next six months, and then make a decision after six months."
"Thank you, I'll consider it." Li Qingye replied perfunctorily , then hung up the phone and prepared to continue lying in bed.
Suddenly a headline popped up on the phone's browser.
He subconsciously prepared to clean up...
But in the next second, Li Qingye was stunned and then clicked on the news.
After reading the news, he felt terrible, and his eyes flickered uncertainly: "What's going on? Could it be... impossible..."
Li Qingye, who was somewhat unbelieving, continued to search for relevant news on the Internet, and soon hundreds of related news appeared on the mobile phone page.
After browsing through them one by one, his face became increasingly gloomy, and at the same time, a terrible thought came to his mind.
