Surgery Godfather

Chapter 2151: Chapter 1798: The Third Shock (Part 2)

"Professor," one day he called out to Yang Ping, "Seven preprints have already cited our paper, seven! And it’s only been three weeks!" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Yang Ping lifted his head from the microscope: "Cited what?"

"The methodology section, everyone is trying to replicate our gene editing plan. Someone is already conducting mouse experiments, someone is designing a pig experiment, and there’s a team that directly verifies our plan on in vitro neurons."

"In vitro verification and in vivo verification are very different," Yang Ping said.

"Of course, but at least someone is trying, Professor, do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"It means this direction is alive, it’s not just us working on it, it’s the whole world. No matter who eventually comes up with the final results, this direction won’t die."

Yang Ping looked at Manstein and was silent for a moment.

"You don’t care who comes up with the final result?"

Manstein laughed.

"Professor, I’m fifty-seven years old. What I care about is not who gets the honor; I care about satisfying my curiosity."

Yang Ping did not answer, he turned around and continued looking through the microscope.

But Manstein didn’t leave, he stood behind Yang Ping, watching the tissue section under the microscope for a while, then suddenly said, "Professor, do you think anyone in these following labs will be the first to conduct human trials?"

Yang Ping’s hand paused.

"It’s possible."

"You’re not worried?"

"Not worried," Yang Ping said, "If someone conducts human trials before us and succeeds, it means patients can receive treatment earlier. That’s a good thing. My goal is not to be the first to cross the finish line; my goal is to ensure the finish line exists."

Manstein was silent for several seconds, then nodded and turned to leave.

In the afternoon, Yang Ping was in the office writing a grant application when his phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw the sender was the president of the International Spinal Cord Injury Research Society, a professor from the United Kingdom.

The email began formally:

"Dear Professor Yang Ping, on behalf of the entire board of the International Spinal Cord Injury Research Society, I solemnly invite you to give a keynote address at this year’s annual society meeting."

Yang Ping scrolled down and saw a passage that left him silent for a long time:

"When discussing this invitation, the board had a fierce debate. Some board members believe that the results from primate experiments still need more independent validation, and giving you this honor now is premature. Other board members believe that regardless of the final validation results, your and Professor Manstein’s work has already pointed this field in a whole new direction, and the value of this direction does not need to wait for validation. Ultimately, the latter opinion prevailed. Personally, I want to add that I belong to the former group, but I’m glad I lost."

Yang Ping finished reading the email and handed the phone to Manstein.

Manstein read it, raised his head, and had a complex expression.

"Professor, the International Spinal Cord Injury Research Society is one of the world’s most conservative academic organizations. Inviting a Chinese person to give a keynote address... this has never happened in history."

"I know."

"Will you go?"

Yang Ping thought for a moment.

"No, you will go on my behalf, and it’s actually your achievement, but it’s not to showcase the achievement; it’s to tell them that this direction needs global cooperation. Spinal cord injuries are not a problem of one country; they’re a worldwide issue."

Manstein nodded.

A few days later, in the evening, Yang Ping was in the animal room with Fritz observing M7. M7 was in great condition today, walking twenty-one steps, setting a new record. Fritz’s hand shook a bit as he wrote this number in the notebook.

"Fritz, are you alright?" Yang Ping asked.

"I’m fine," Fritz said, "I just think if M7 were human, it should be ready to be discharged now."

Yang Ping was startled for a moment, then laughed.

"You’re still far off; the human discharge standard is being able to go to the bathroom, dress oneself, and eat independently. M7 hasn’t learned how to dress."

"Monkeys don’t need to dress."

"So it’s already met the standard?"

As the two were chatting quietly, Yang Ping’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the caller ID; it was an international number with a Swiss area code.

He picked it up.

"Is this Professor Yang Ping?" The voice on the other end was a middle-aged woman, speaking English with a strong French accent.

"I am!"

"My name is Isabelle Moriau. I am the president of the International Rehabilitation Medicine Federation."

Yang Ping’s fingers tightened slightly; the International Rehabilitation Medicine Federation is the highest-level academic organization in the global field of rehabilitation medicine, even higher in rank and broader in coverage than the International Spinal Cord Injury Research Society.

"Professor Moriau, hello."

"Professor Yang, I’ll be brief. The federation’s council held an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss one agenda, whether ’Neural Repair Guided by Three-Dimensional Gene Theory’ should be listed as a key development direction for the future of rehabilitation medicine. The vote was unanimous: yes."

Yang Ping held the phone without speaking.

"But that’s not why I’m calling," Moriau continued, "I’m calling because I personally want to ask you a question."

"Please go ahead."

"Is your method effective for old spinal cord injuries? Not injuries that have happened for a few months, but injuries that are years, ten years, or even decades old."

Yang Ping thought for a while.

"Professor Moriau, our current data comes only from acute phase interventions, within forty-eight hours after injury. Theoretically possible for chronic injuries, but much more difficult. Because a glial scar may form locally, and the microenvironment is much more complex than during the acute phase. However, we are designing experimental plans for chronic injuries and will launch them early next year."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Thank you, Professor Yang, I will pass your words to those who have waited too long."

"You’re welcome."

The call ended.

Yang Ping stood in the animal room, looking at M7. M7 had already fallen asleep, curled up in the corner of its cage, one hand resting on the railing, fingers slightly open. It kicked its hind legs once more in its sleep.

"Fritz."

"Hmm?"

"Did you record the twenty-one steps M7 took today?"

"Recorded."

"Write another line – ’The twenty-first step is for everyone who’s waiting.’"

Fritz looked at Yang Ping and did not speak. He lowered his head and neatly wrote that line in the blank space of the notebook.

The news from Stockholm also arrived.

In the fifth week after the paper was published, Yang Ping received an email from the Karolinska Institute. The sender was the secretary-general of the Nobel Prize Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Yang Ping was not unfamiliar with this name; the emails for the previous two awards were also from this person.

But this time, the nature of the email was different - not an award notification, but an invitation.

"Dear Professor Yang Ping, the Nobel Prize Committee sincerely invites you to attend this year’s Nobel Prize Week series of activities and give a special report titled ’From Theory to Practice: The Application of Three-Dimensional Gene Navigation in Spinal Cord Injury Repair.’"

Yang Ping finished reading the email and handed the phone to Manstein.

Manstein read it, raised his head, and had a complex expression.

"Professor, this isn’t an ordinary invitation."

"I know."

"The Nobel Prize Committee inviting someone who has already won the award to return and give a report has happened only three times in history..."

Manstein started speaking but didn’t finish.

"Professor, will you go?"

Yang Ping thought for a long time.

"I won’t go! You will go on my behalf. Likewise, it’s not to showcase the achievement; it’s to tell them that this direction needs global cooperation. Spinal cord injuries are not a country’s issue; they’re a worldwide issue. I don’t need a third Nobel Prize; I need a third impossibility to become a possibility."

Manstein looked at Yang Ping without speaking.

He just extended his hand and shook Yang Ping’s.

"Professor, are you sure you want me to go?"

"Yes! You’re more suitable than I am."

"What do you think people a hundred years from now will think we’re doing?" Yang Ping asked.

Manstein thought for a moment.

"They’ll think we’re doing something very foolish."

"Why?"

"Because they’ll be used to spinal cord injuries being repairable. They’ll find it natural, just as we find bone fractures can naturally heal. They’ll forget there was once an era when paralyzed people were believed to never stand up."

He paused.

"But they’ll remember those who made this natural. Not remembering the names, but remembering the spirit, the spirit of disbelieving ’impossible.’"

Yang Ping looked at Manstein.

"You’re really quite philosophical today."

"I told you, since the day I ate spicy."

The two looked at each other and both laughed.