godfather of surgery

Chapter 1155 Male and Female Peacocks
Lin Lan stopped worrying about who should sign the papers. She figured someone was taking on private work because of friendship, and she turned a blind eye to such things.

In the field of scientific research, some doctoral students come from wealthy families and outsource their experiments, and some even outsource their dissertations. Meanwhile, those from poorer families have to do their own experiments. Since laboratory resources are limited, they rarely get a turn, so they have to rely on personal connections to help each other use the equipment.

"Regarding the research topics conducted by Dr. Lu and Dr. Zhang, I have just reviewed the data and roughly judged that there are two possibilities: First, the diseased X chromosome in the second generation comes from a woman in the first generation, which is normal. Second, the diseased X chromosome in the second generation comes from a man in the first generation. Gene recombination occurred between the X and Y chromosomes of the first-generation man. Due to recombination, the disease-causing gene was transferred from the Y chromosome to the X chromosome. Also, due to recombination, the overlap rate between the genes on this X chromosome and the genes on the X chromosome of the first-generation man is too low, leading to the test results indicating that this X chromosome did not come from the first-generation man. This possibility is extremely rare, but it exists theoretically."

"Genes on the Y chromosome are highly closed, and recombination is impossible under normal circumstances. However, heredity is not absolutely stable, so this possibility still exists. Heredity and variation always go hand in hand. The combination of the conservatism of heredity and the innovation of variation leads to the continuous evolution of humankind. Although evolution also carries risks, overall, it is a risk for the individual but a benefit for humanity as a whole."

"I suggest you do another test to compare the X gene of the second generation with the gene segments on the X and Y chromosomes of the first generation male. If it can be determined that some gene segments on the X chromosome of the second generation come from the Y chromosome of the first generation and some come from the X chromosome, then it can be confirmed that the X and Y chromosomes of the first generation have undergone rare recombination. As for why this is the case, I don't know either, we don't have any research in this area."

"Our genetic testing to determine the origin of chromosomes involves comparing gene segments on the chromosomes. This standard takes into account recombination of non-homologous and non-allelic genes, but does not take into account recombination between the Y chromosome and the X chromosome, because this situation is extremely rare."

"It's like our blood tests. Some reference values ​​are set based on statistical coverage, which can only cover 95% of people. Normally, if a test result is abnormal, we would naturally assume that the patient has a problem. But if we want to investigate the abnormality itself, we need to know the logic behind the test standards."

After Lin Lan finished speaking, Yang Ping said to Xiao Wu and Zhang Lin, "Did you hear that?"

Xiao Wu and Zhang Lin nodded at the same time. Yang Ping said to them, "Professor Lin is very busy. Ask him any questions you have quickly, and don't take up too much of his time."

Lin Lan smiled and said, "It's alright, I'm not very busy today. Ask me anything, and I'll tell you everything I know."

Afterwards, Xiao Wu and Zhang Lin asked a lot of questions. They were thick-skinned and didn't care whether others laughed at them. They asked about anything they didn't understand in genetics. Lin Lan answered them patiently, giving clear and easy-to-understand answers to even the simplest questions.

"Whoever wrote the report, please sign it. Next time, please help a friend register for free computer access." Lin Lan handed the document to her secretary, Dr. Wen, and asked her to sign it for the person who was hiding and dared not show their face.

"Professor Yang, when we're working on a project, things are fine when things are going smoothly. But if things aren't going well, and the interim results completely deviate from our predictions, sometimes we can't grasp the direction of the project. In such situations, we just take it one step at a time, without a rigorous scientific process to deal with it. Not long ago, my supervisor mentioned that they planned to develop a software model, using a professional model similar to artificial intelligence to guide experiments. It would determine whether to declare failure or continue, and if to continue, whether to continue repeatedly according to the original plan or adjust the direction. This way, there would be a fairly reliable guide. I didn't expect you to have already applied this method to scientific research." Lin Lan was very interested in the uncertainty principle that Xiao Wu had just mentioned.

This is not just an unfamiliar term, but a cutting-edge scientific concept and method that guides scientific research, requiring a complete set of mathematical theories to support it.

Many international pharmaceutical giants use similar research software because drug development involves huge investments and has an extremely low success rate, so pharmaceutical companies place great importance on research methodologies. For example, if a new drug development encounters obstacles and cannot proceed, stopping there would mean all previous investments are wasted, especially if the drug was close to success. Continuing, on the other hand, risks failing to develop the drug or failing to achieve the intended purpose, resulting in a complete waste of time, energy, and money.

At this point, relying on experience to make judgments and decide the next step is extremely inefficient and lacks accuracy. What's needed is software that can collect all available experimental data, classify it, and then use probability theory to predict the success rate.

It sounds simple, but it's actually quite complicated to operate. Although this method may produce false positives, as long as the accuracy rate reaches a certain level, it can save a lot of money for research and development and avoid unnecessary investment.

It's like having software that can predict the rise and fall of all stocks. It doesn't need to predict every single stock accurately; it just needs to have an accuracy rate above a certain baseline. If a person buys stocks according to the software's guidance, some will make money, and some will lose money. But once the software's prediction accuracy rate exceeds the threshold between winning and losing, and remains stable above that threshold, the person will make a steady profit.

In fact, the real technological barrier of some pharmaceutical giants is not the few drugs that have already been launched, but the powerful R&D system behind them. The core of this system is the database accumulated from previous R&D. The data in these databases can not only prevent detours in the development of new drugs in the future, but also guide the development of new drugs in the right direction.

Some new pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in research projects, believing they have found a new path, but this may very well be the same path that those giants failed on decades ago. This is why pharmaceutical giants are so difficult to shake.

Unlike drug development, general scientific research projects are not as concentrated and are more decentralized. Each drug development project is a drug development project and has many commonalities. Other medical research topics have very little in common. For example, tumor treatment and stem cell therapy have very little in common. Therefore, this type of software is extremely difficult to develop, and no one is willing to develop it.

Developing this type of software is extremely difficult, no less so than developing some heavyweight industrial software.

In fact, Yang Ping had previously had the idea of ​​developing this type of software and had read many books on the subject, combining mathematics and biology. Unfortunately, there is a lack of talent in this area. To develop this software, a team of more than 6,000 people would be needed. This team would include not only excellent programmers and medical researchers, but also top-notch mathematicians.

At the time, due to a shortage of talent and time, Yang Ping created a simple process for rough manual judgment. He named this process the Uncertainty Progression Procedure, a dynamic optimization method. Unexpectedly, Xiao Wu and Zhang Lin listened attentively in class and didn't miss this knowledge. These two brothers, despite their boastful attitude, were still very diligent in their studies.

Yang Ping shook his head and said, "We currently only have a rudimentary manual judgment process, which is very troublesome. It requires manual data collection, calculation, and judgment. It works well for individual experiments, but we don't know if it will work once it is used systematically. However, I plan to set up a team to study scientific research software to support the scientific research of our Academy of Medical Sciences."

It seems that Professor Yang's ambitions extend far beyond these few laboratories; he wants to establish an advanced super system, Lin Lan thought.

Throughout the history of science, many scientific achievements originated in laboratories, such as the C programming language and computer systems. Initially, these were simply tools used for research, but they gradually spread and became world-changing scientific results.

For example, the famous Bell Labs, the C programming language, C++, and the UNIX operating system all originated from this lab. "If we develop this software in the future, will someone use it to speculate in stocks and make a fortune?" a graduate student asked, a lighthearted question that made everyone laugh.

Yang Ping joked, "That's not necessarily true. When the UNIX operating system came out, no one could have imagined that it would spawn the Apple mobile phone system. No one expected that the C language would become the popular computer language it is today. If I really develop this software, who knows what it will become in the future?"

Lin Lan was very interested in the fact that the manual procedure demonstrated that the underlying ideas of this method had been grasped.

"Our teacher, Mr. Lu, will make an appointment with you all later to share our manual judgment program," Yang Ping said.

After helping Zhang Lin and Xiao Wu acquire the necessary knowledge, Yang Ping inquired about the future development of the Academy of Medical Sciences and hoped that everyone would speak freely and offer suggestions.

Since the laboratory was merged into the Academy of Medical Sciences, the researchers have been very happy. Their economic situation has improved significantly. In addition to their basic salary, they also receive a salary from a special foundation, which is enough to ensure they live a comfortable life. This allows them to work with peace of mind and focus.

Secondly, their labs are more independent than before. They have complete academic control over what the labs research and don't need to do futile work around various ratings. They can freely conduct research according to their own wishes, and everyone is very motivated now.

"We just talked about Bell Labs. We can learn a lot from its management experience, such as its flat management structure. We will gradually reform our management system and eventually establish a scientific and advanced management system. Please feel free to raise any opinions you may have in this regard."

"I have a suggestion?" a PhD student raised his hand.

Lin Lan took a look and realized that this PhD student was not from the genetics lab, but from the digital medicine lab. Sometime during the day, many people from that lab had gathered there. They probably thought Yang Ping was coming to give a lecture and had come specifically to listen to something.

"Speak!" Yang Ping encouraged him.

"Professor, our lab is almost entirely male, with very few females. This is seriously affecting our work. A mix of men and women makes the work easier. To improve efficiency, I hope to recruit some female PhDs in the future. This situation is already quite serious." The PhD student's expression was serious, without a hint of joking.

Yang Ping didn't take it as a joke and said very seriously, "Since it's so serious, didn't you mention this to your director?"

The PhD student looked completely innocent: "I have mentioned it, several times. Our director said, 'What are you thinking about all day? Can't you focus your energy on scientific research?'"

Everyone burst into laughter, especially the girls who covered their mouths and chuckled. They'd seen straight men from science and engineering backgrounds, but never one this blunt, offering such opinions in this kind of setting.

"However, in psychology, there is ample evidence to support the idea that working with men and women is less tiring. I've checked the literature, and there are many highly credible papers. One German psychologist conducted a multi-team study for fifteen years, and the final result was that teams with a certain ratio of men and women were several times more efficient than teams with only one or nearly one gender. Moreover, teams with an appropriate male-to-female ratio had far greater resilience, innovation, and harmony than teams with only one gender or an imbalanced gender structure." The PhD student began to cite sources and speak fluently, as if he were reporting on one of his research topics rather than offering advice.

"Here's what we'll do: write a review on the impact of gender on team efficiency and submit it to me. If, as you say, there's indeed a consensus in psychology, then I'll formally talk to your Director He. Not only your lab, but all labs will try to maintain a golden ratio in terms of gender. Of course, this is difficult to achieve, as there are already very few female PhDs." Yang Ping felt that what this PhD said made sense and wasn't just random talk; he had even read many papers on this topic.

“There are indeed relatively few female PhDs, but our Academy of Medical Sciences is very good at recruiting. We can poach female PhDs from other places, and that will balance things out,” another male PhD said.

“You’ve achieved balance, but other teams are starting to lose it. Okay, let’s do it this way. Since you made the suggestion, we’ll take it seriously and treat it with a scientific spirit. Go and write a high-quality review article and submit it to me,” Yang Ping instructed.

This time, the PhD student who offered the advice was a bit at a loss. He thought Yang Ping was bad at financial management, but he didn't expect that not only would Yang Ping accept his advice, but he would also ask him to write a review on this topic. Could Professor Yang really be serious?

"If you're interested, you could even use your spare time to start a small research project to study the impact of the male-to-female ratio on team efficiency, and ideally find out what the golden ratio is," Yang Ping encouraged him.

"I heard that a one-to-one ratio of men to women isn't very efficient. There should be fewer women than men, but not too many. Apparently, there's a golden ratio." A girl chimed in.

"Why?" another girl asked curiously.

The girl explained, "This is human nature as animals. I read a paper that said during the mating season, if there are fewer female peacocks than male peacocks, the male peacocks will compete to display their tail feathers in front of the females, and the frequency of displaying their tail feathers is very high. If the ratio is one to one, or if there are more females than males, the male peacocks will display their tail feathers very rarely. If there is only one female peacock or very few female peacocks, these male peacocks will not like to display their tail feathers as much."

"You still read these kinds of papers?" someone asked.