Genius of the Rules-Style System

Chapter 1376: Chapter 656: Establishing a Gene Laboratory

The computer displayed detailed experimental comparison data, with rows upon rows of recorded information, including many coded names for blood components, enzymes, and proteins, which would surely make any layperson’s head spin.

Zhao Yi, however, found it fascinating, even though he couldn’t understand some of the codes himself.

Even the top medical research experts couldn’t possibly know all the substance codes, since there were simply too many of them. Some codes were just sequential numbers and what they specifically stood for had to be looked up carefully.

Ai Lixin knew more because he was involved in the experiments. Some of the data in the reports were generated by the computer, some were manually entered. As he looked at the screen, he explained to Zhao Yi, "The blood of children and the elderly is quite different; the cell content levels that vary normally are a few routine items."

"The components in the blood are the same; there aren’t any differences in what was detected."

"What we are focusing on are the levels of proteins and enzymes, especially the trace amounts of proteins and enzymes, as well as some substances whose specific effects are unknown and only exist as codes—"

Ai Lixin pointed at the data on the computer, elaborating extensively, "Next, we will select some materials that might affect aging to input into elderly mice for observation."

"If a certain protein or enzyme injected into an elderly mouse leads to a clear rejuvenation or extends its lifespan, then the experiment can be considered a success."

Zhao Yi listened patiently and nodded.

The method Ai Lixin described was a standard medical research tactic, which always had one problem, "How many should we select? How long will the research take?"

"—This."

Ai Lixin was momentarily stumped and muttered, "Normally, every protein or enzyme whose effect is uncertain, or possibly related to delaying aging, needs to be extracted and tested. There are probably several hundred of these."

"If every single one has to be extracted and experimented on, especially those in very low quantities that cannot be synthesized artificially, it would take a very, very long time."

"So, we’ve just decided to select a few of them. We’ve discussed it and think that proteins from C zone and enzymes from E zone are highly probable candidates. This narrows it down to a few dozen. To complete them all, it would probably take about two to five years." freeweɓnovel.cøm

Zhao Yi fell silent upon hearing this.

Two to five years?

That’s an incredibly long period!

Merely extracting a fraction of substances for research requires several years to complete. If none of these materials directly intervene in aging, it would mean years wasted in effort.

Zhao Yi sighed, "Medical research is indeed very difficult."

"Yes,"

Ai Lixin sighed in agreement, "Sometimes, this kind of research is just a matter of luck. With good luck, maybe the first substance chosen will be directly related to aging, but with bad luck, years of effort might yield no results at all."

"That’s why we shouldn’t put all our energy into this alone."

"In fact, several institutions around the world are conducting this experiment, and they are investing more into their projects than we are."

"They haven’t come up with any results yet either, but maybe one day they will suddenly have a breakthrough. It’s hard to say."

Zhao Yi pursed his lips tightly as he continued to scrutinize the data on the computer screen, "Research is truly difficult, I understand you all."

He turned to Ai Lixin, "It’s normal not to have results in the short term, but our lab is already the best in the country. It wouldn’t sound good if we didn’t produce any long-term research outcomes."

Ai Lixin shook his head, "There’s nothing we can do. Medical research is like that. Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll make a big breakthrough. But when it comes to the human body, it’s just too complex, especially for topics related to aging—"

But as Ai Lixin continued to express his concerns, he saw Zhao Yi making small marks on the data list.

He stopped talking and watched closely, noticing that Zhao Yi had made seven marks. He asked in confusion, "What is this—?"

Zhao Yi replied, "Didn’t you say we need to find a few substances to extract and study? I’ve looked carefully and think these proteins and enzymes might be related to aging."

"Ah?"

Ai Lixin looked again and found that the marked items were proteins and enzymes whose effects were unclear; six out of the seven were simply listed by sequence codes, with three marked as ’extremely low concentration.’

How were these marked?

Was it just a lucky guess?

Ai Lixin was baffled but then suddenly realized something.

For a long time, their research had been without Zhao Yi’s direct involvement, and they hadn’t produced any results. He had forgotten what it was like to research under Zhao Yi’s guidance.

Now, the feeling seemed to be returning!

Yes!

For issues like data analysis, they definitely needed Zhao Yi to make decisions!

While Zhao Yi’s decisions might not always be perfectly right, at least they could lead in the right direction, preventing the research from wasting too much time on meaningless paths.

Excited by this realization, Ai Lixin quickly highlighted the marks in red, then said eagerly, "Zhao Yi, I know what to do next."

Just as the two finished discussing the data, they saw Zhang Wei exiting the lab. With a face full of joy, she said to Zhao Yi, "I saw Xiao Liu gesticulating earlier, saying you had arrived. He quickly stopped what he was working on."