godfather of surgery

Chapter 1338 The Scientific Community Is Not Pure!

A week later, Lele's body seemed to be undergoing a silent and complex systemic restructuring. Daily blood, urine, and metabolite analyses showed that the immune system was slowly but steadily relearning to rebalance. Overactive inflammatory pathways were gently suppressed, dormant regulatory pathways were carefully awakened, and metabolic disorders were precisely corrected.

This indicates that the regulatory approach is effective, representing a successful application of systems regulation theory in the non-tumor field.

"It's like repairing... an extremely precise instrument," Xu Zhiliang described it this way. "Every... minor adjustment... will affect the entire system."

In fact, the treatment process is far more complex than repairing the equipment. Every morning, Yang Ping, Xu Zhiliang, and the entire medical team spend three hours analyzing the previous day's complete data, and then fine-tuning the day's treatment plan based on Lele's real-time physical responses.

"This is the essence of systemic regulation," Yang Ping said at the discussion. "It's not about 'administering medication and waiting for results,' but a dynamic process of 'intervention, observation, fine-tuning, and re-observation.' Each patient is a unique and complex system, and there is no fixed approach."

On the morning of the seventh day, when Yang Ping was performing a routine check-up on Lele, the child asked a question: "Dr. Yang, once I'm better, will I no longer need to have my blood drawn every day?"

“It will reduce the number of cases significantly,” Yang Ping said gently, “but regular checkups may still be necessary.”

"Can I go to school?"

"Once this treatment is completed and the indicators stabilize, I will be able to go to school."

Lele's eyes lit up. For a child who had been hospitalized for a long time, the word "going to school" represented all the possibilities of returning to the normal world.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Tang Shun brought the latest developments in the Three Kingdoms case to the director's office in the ward.

“The progress is fastest in the US,” Tang Shun said excitedly. “The California prosecutor has formally charged Dr. Smith, the head of that holistic medicine center, with charges including gross medical negligence, fraud, and patent infringement.” Tang Shun opened his tablet. “During the search of his office, the police found a detailed ‘Client Relationship Management Manual,’ which recorded how to screen ‘vulnerable wealthy patients,’ how to package treatments with the ‘Nobel Prize halo,’ and how to guide patients to attribute adverse reactions to ‘the theory itself being flawed.’”

Yang Ping's eyes turned cold: "So, your complaint against us is part of his plan?"

“That’s right. The manual even has a chapter called ‘Crisis Transfer Strategy,’ which details how to shift the blame to the original theoretical team by manipulating public opinion if the treatment fails.” Tang Shun turned to a screenshot. “Look here— ‘After the patient experiences adverse reactions, emphasize that this is an unavoidable risk of cutting-edge science, implying that Yang Ping’s team concealed these risks.’”

Song Ziming also came in, bringing news from the UK: "The London police have sent back the latest information. The head of that 'Alternative Medicine Centre,' a British woman named Catherine Weber, was once a student of Professor Hans Berger. The police found encrypted email correspondence between her and Berger on her computer, shortly after our award announcement."

Hansberg? This is no ordinary person; he is a renowned German medical professor.

"The contents of the email?" Yang Ping asked.

“Some parts have been declassified. In the email, Berg provided a detailed interpretation of our early papers, pointing out ‘which parts could be simplified and which risks could be concealed,’ and suggesting that she ‘focus on affluent chronic disease patients who are disillusioned with traditional medicine and are more receptive to new ideas.’” Song Ziming said with a grim expression. “What’s worse, Berg also provided a ‘simplified treatment plan’ that he had edited, removing all content about monitoring, adjustments, and risk disclosure.”

Yang Ping closed his eyes. The academic dispute had escalated into a business conspiracy, and a well-known scholar had become an accomplice to medical fraud. This fact was more heartbreaking than any attack from a competitor.

"What about Japan?" he asked.

Zhang Lin just pushed the door open and came in: "The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's interrogation has made a breakthrough. The president of that biotechnology company, Yamada, admitted that their concept of 'systemic regulatory biological agents' came about after listening to Professor Berg's lecture at an international conference. In a private conversation after the lecture, Berg told them that 'this is a blue ocean for business' and provided them with a 'simplified theoretical framework' for packaging their products."

The clues from the Three Kingdoms period all point to the same name—Hans Berger.

"Professor, should we make this public?" Tang Shun asked.

“No.” Yang Ping said after a moment of thought, “This is evidence from the police investigation, and it cannot be made public before a formal indictment. Moreover…” He paused, “Berg is an internationally renowned scholar. If we make it public now, it might be interpreted as retaliation, and the legal process could be allowed to continue.”

"But he was clearly manipulating all of this behind the scenes!" Zhang Lin said indignantly.

“Then prove it in court,” Yang Ping said calmly, “with solid evidence, not trial by public opinion.”

At 10 a.m., Lele began the final stage of her conditioning therapy. The focus of this stage was no longer on inhibiting or activating a particular pathway, but rather on stabilizing the entire system at its existing equilibrium point.

Yang Ping explained to Lele's parents, "It's like learning to ride a bicycle. At first, you need training wheels, and then you gradually remove the training wheels so that the child can find their own balance. What we are doing now is the process of removing training wheels."

The treatment was very gentle, simply halving the dosage of the medication from the previous phase.

Around noon, Yang Ping received an international call from Professor Mainstein.

“Professor, I’ve heard about the progress of the Three Kingdoms case.” Mainstein’s voice sounded tired. “About Berg… I’m so sorry. I’ve known him for thirty years and always thought he was just stubborn and conservative. I never imagined it would come to this.”

"This is not your fault."

“But this is a disgrace to the scientific community,” Mainstein sighed. “A scholar, out of jealousy and self-interest, actually participates in harming patients. This is more serious than any academic fraud.”

He paused for a moment: "The German Academy of Sciences has begun an internal investigation. Berg has been suspended from all his posts. But I feel that's not enough. He should be permanently expelled from the scientific community."

“Let the law decide,” Yang Ping said. “If the evidence is conclusive, he faces more than just the bankruptcy of his academic reputation.”

“There’s one more thing,” Mainstein said in a low voice. “I’ve heard that Berger isn’t the only one. There are some conservative scholars in Europe and America who are very dissatisfied with the Nobel Prize in Systems Regulation Theory, seeing it as a ‘challenge of Western medical traditions by Eastern science.’ They may be planning a more systematic counterattack.” Yang Ping smiled wryly: “Does science have national borders?”

“It doesn’t exist in ideals, but it does in reality,” Mannstein said candidly. “Your success has made many people feel threatened. Not only by your academic standing, but also by the interests behind it: pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and existing treatment systems. The theory of systemic regulation has taken away a lot of people’s interests, and every time you make a disruptive innovation, it will disturb these vested interests.”

“Professor, you are not alone,” Mannstein said firmly. “Many scholars in Europe and America support you. We are jointly writing a statement supporting the scientific value of the system regulation theory and condemning any form of misappropriation and distortion. It will be published simultaneously in Science, Nature and The Lancet this weekend.”

"Thank you," Yang Ping said sincerely.

“No, we should thank you,” Mainstein said. “You have shown us how a scientist can maintain both a dedication to the truth and a sense of social responsibility.”

After the call ended, Yang Ping stood by the window, motionless for a long time. Outside, the huge banyan tree in the institute's courtyard stretched its branches and leaves in the sunlight, and several sparrows hopped on the branches.

Science, interests, ethics, law, international relations... these complex factors intertwine, making what should be a simple scientific research task so arduous.

Science is pure, but the scientific community is not!
In the evening, Zhang Lin brought the latest developments in global public opinion.

The joint statement mentioned by Professor Mannstein was leaked in advance, causing a stir in academic circles. It has already been signed by over two hundred internationally renowned scholars, covering multiple fields including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and metabolic diseases. One passage in the statement has been widely quoted:
"The theory of systemic regulation represents a major shift in the theoretical paradigm of medicine. The early application of any cutting-edge science is accompanied by risks, but this should not be a reason to stop exploration. We support Yang Ping's team's adherence to scientific ethics and condemn any behavior that misuses the name of science to harm patients. The future of science lies in open collaboration, not narrow protection."

Nature magazine will publish an editorial entitled "The Conscience of Science: When Exploration Meets Boundaries".

Meanwhile, more details of the Three Kingdoms case were gradually revealed through legal channels. The public began to understand that the patients who were harmed were not harmed because the theory itself was flawed, but because someone deliberately distorted and simplified it.

“Public opinion has completely reversed.” Zhang Lin showed social media data. “The mainstream voice now supports us and demands that those who misappropriate our information be severely punished. There are also patient rights organizations that have launched a petition calling for stronger oversight of cutting-edge medical technologies.”

Tang Shun added, "More practically, those institutions that previously doubted our cooperation are now proactively contacting us to request deeper collaboration. They have seen our rigor and sense of responsibility."

Yang Ping felt little joy. He knew that public opinion was like a tide; it might surge in today, but recede tomorrow. What truly mattered were the monitoring data from Lele's bedside, the victims still under investigation, and how to further refine the systemic regulation theory.

The following day, Yang Ping convened a team meeting in his office. This time it was not a crisis response meeting, but a genuine scientific research discussion.

“Based on the data from the entire treatment process of Lele over the past seven days, and considering the problems exposed by the Three Kingdoms incident, I have a few ideas.” Yang Ping drew a large circle on the whiteboard to represent “system regulation theory”, and then drew three lines from the circle.

“The first line: theoretical deepening.” He wrote next to the first line: “Mathematical definition of stability.” Currently, we use multiple indicators to comprehensively assess the system state, but this is descriptive. Could we establish a 'system stability index,' like the Richter scale for earthquakes, to quantify the disturbance resistance of complex systems numerically?”

Jiang Jitong immediately responded: "It's like the concepts of 'robustness' and 'elasticity' in engineering. A system must not only be in equilibrium under static conditions, but also maintain dynamic equilibrium."

Xu Zhiliang joined the discussion: "This requires... a large-scale patient dataset. Not just... Lele's, but a 'systematic baseline' of people with different diseases, ages, and genetic backgrounds in a healthy state. Then... we can define what constitutes a 'deviation,' and 'how much deviation' requires intervention."

“So this is a long-term project.” Yang Ping noted under the first line: “It will take 3-5 years and involve multi-center collaboration.”

“The second line,” he pointed to the second line, “is also the most urgent: a safe translation system for cutting-edge medical concepts.”

Several keywords appeared on the whiteboard: training, certification, tiered implementation, and ongoing monitoring.

"The fundamental problem exposed by this Three Kingdoms incident is: when a new medical model emerges, how do we ensure that it is not misused?" Yang Ping turned to his team, "We publish papers, give academic reports, and hold seminars, but those who really want to apply it—doctors, clinics, and biotechnology companies—may not have enough training. They try to use the 'old map' to navigate the 'new terrain,' and the result is getting lost and accidents."

Song Ziming nodded: "The 'simplified solution' provided by Berg is essentially forcibly stuffing systems medicine into the mold of traditional drug development. But systems regulation is not a drug, but a method, a theory, which requires the implementer to understand the basic principles of complex systems."

"Therefore, I want to establish a 'systematic adjustment clinical implementation certification system'," Yang Ping clearly stated this concept. "It's not commercial training, but a public welfare-oriented, rigorous education and evaluation system. It's divided into several levels: basic theory certification, specialty application certification, and advanced dynamic adjustment certification. Only medical institutions and doctors who pass the full certification can obtain our complete technical solution support, including access to our developed monitoring and analysis platform."

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds as everyone processed the weight of this idea.

“This will be a huge workload,” Song Ziming finally said. “Curriculum design, textbook writing, assessment standards, differences in international law, continuous monitoring mechanisms… may require a dedicated team working full-time for three years to establish a basic framework.”

"There will also be conflicts of interest," Xiao Wu said pragmatically. "If we certify some organizations but not others, won't we be accused of monopolistic practices? If we charge fees, we'll be accused of commercialization; if we don't charge fees, how will we maintain operations?"

Yang Ping had already considered these issues: "Therefore, it cannot belong to us alone. I suggest that we join forces with Professor Mainstein and other international scholars mentioned in the statement to launch an 'International Alliance for Translational Medicine,' based on K-therapy training and expanding upon it, operating as a neutral non-profit organization. The certification standards should be open and transparent, the training materials should be open-source and shared, and the implementation process should be subject to third-party supervision. As for the fees, a tiered model can be adopted: free for low-income countries, cost-based fees for high-income countries, and the surplus used to support cutting-edge research and patient assistance funds."

He paused, looking out the window at the darkening sky: "If we truly believe that systems regulation theory can help more people, we must establish a system to ensure its correct use. Otherwise, today Berg offers simplified solutions, tomorrow someone else will. We cannot always remedy after harm has occurred; we must prevent harm before it occurs."

"What about the third line?" Tang Shun asked, as he had been taking notes.

Yang Ping wrote two words on the third line: Communication.

“Scientists need to learn to talk to the public,” he said slowly, each word carrying weight. “System regulation theory is too abstract for ordinary people, which gives speculators room to misinterpret it. We need to find better ways to explain it to patients, the public, and policymakers, and to make continuous public education.”

(End of this chapter)