Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 380 The Birth of Penicillin? A Paper from London!

Penicillin, also known as penicillin.

Historically, when most people talk about penicillin, the first person they think of is probably its discoverer, Alexander Fleming.

The little Scotsman first discovered two years ago the existence of a substance that could dissolve bacteria, which he believed was the key to obtaining a natural antibacterial agent.

However, he went astray during his research, and the lysozyme he cultivated only worked on harmless microorganisms.

The research was first put on hold, but later by chance he discovered the existence of penicillin and conducted a large number of experiments.

Based on this topic, Fleming wrote a famous paper entitled "On the Bactericidal Action of Fungal Cultures" in 1929, announcing his discovery of penicillin.

Unfortunately, the concentration of penicillin discovered at that time was not high enough, resulting in an extremely slow effect, and it was also difficult to produce in large quantities.

Therefore, not only did Fleming himself shelve the experiment, but even the publication of this paper did not attract international attention.

In an unknown corner of the East, a group of top Chinese scientists led by Bao Guowei had quietly developed penicillin.

This is exciting news, and even most of the people who led the research will gain unimaginable fame and status because of this achievement.

But for the Chinese nation during this period, they were able to take advantage of the first-mover advantage and continue to expand their advantages in penicillin technology.

All scientists involved in this research chose to conceal it.

According to Bao Guowei, there was no sign that the news of the successful development of penicillin had leaked out.

This is also the reason why he was extremely shocked when he saw the letter.

I wonder how these two scientists from London, on the other side of the ocean, found some channel to have this letter delivered to me?

The most important thing is that these two names surprised Bao Guowei extremely.

They are different from the discoverer Fleming. Chain is a German who came to Britain after graduation, while Florey is an Australian who had just obtained his doctorate from Cambridge University a few years ago.

I have never had any intersection with these two people.

According to Bao Guowei's memory, in the subsequent awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of penicillin, Fleming, Chain and Florey were the scientists who jointly won the 1945 Nobel Prize!
After a quick thought, Bao Guowei remembered.

After Fleming discovered penicillin, Florey and Chain made outstanding research contributions to the purification and application of penicillin, which is why they were awarded the Nobel Prize.

But historically, the actual clinical application of penicillin was not until around 1941, which is still more than ten years away.

What did the two of them want to do when they wrote to me?

Could it be that his penicillin research had been leaked?

Did the Western countries already know that penicillin had been successfully developed?
Bao Guowei frowned. He reviewed his research process and thought that there were no mistakes.

It can be said that he paid the greatest attention to the research on penicillin.

However, there is always a loophole. If penicillin is to be used, it is inevitable that many people will know about it.

Could it be that the scientists he trusted leaked the information?

Bao Guowei was worried. He knew that with the current situation in the world, even if he developed penicillin in advance, the West would do everything they could to get this technology.

Especially given the weakness of the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek's leadership, technology leakage is likely to occur in a short period of time.

Even if the technology is kept and the Western countries discover the related results, it will not be difficult to replicate them with the current technology in the Western world.

In the field of science, the most difficult thing is to be a pioneer.

If this situation occurs, Bao Guowei will never be able to accept it. For the development of penicillin, both he and the scientists in Shanghai have contributed a lot.

Just when we were about to succeed, the fruits of victory were seized by foreigners. This was totally unacceptable to anyone.

Feeling nervous, Bao Guowei sat down and read the letter in his hand carefully.

The letter paper is very exquisite, with ancient patterns and English handwriting that exudes the atmosphere of old London.

Both the cover and the content are written in English.

It’s no wonder why Cao Yanhai didn’t even mention it.

Although he had followed Bao Guowei for several months and improved his cultural level a lot, reading English was still too difficult for him.

After taking a quick glance at the contents of the letter, Bao Guowei immediately felt relieved.

It seems that these two British scientists did not write to Bao Guowei until they knew about the successful development of penicillin.

On the contrary, they seemed to want to discuss with Bao Guowei the next steps in the development of penicillin?

At this point in time, the two scientists who would leave a mark in history in the future were still very young.

Qian En is only 24 years old now and has just graduated from college. Flory has also just graduated with a doctorate and is in his early 30s.

They became friends in England and planned to conduct joint research on penicillin.

It is worth mentioning that the two were able to obtain Bao Guowei’s address with the help of a British historian named Arnold Joseph Toynbee.

Arnold is professor of international history at the London School of Economics and has also served as director of research at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

He visited China last year and I think he hasn't returned yet.

The historian is also a loyal fan of Chinese culture.

And it was Arnold who mentioned Bao Guowei's name to these two scientists in the letter he wrote back home.

The letter also specifically displays Arnold's original words.

"Dear gentlemen, I am honored to introduce to you a talented scientist from China, Mr. Bao. He not only has a rare talent in literature, but also shines in medicine. Especially in the research of allicin, his achievements have made a big step forward in the application of allicin. The masks and other medical devices he developed are changing the traditional oriental medical form. I think in this regard, the oriental country we originally thought of is more advanced than London. Gentlemen, if you can arrive, you will be amazed by the medical care here.
In the hospital, I discovered various scientific treatment methods that are not available in the Western world, such as the introduction of nutrition, the use of the new "iron lung", respiratory intubation and a series of other technologies.
And all this points to a 17-year-old young man from the East
I heard that the two gentlemen have always had a noble and persistent pursuit in finding natural antibiotics, and Mr. Qian En once asked me to communicate with international scientists to find breakthroughs in related areas.
Now I think the opportunity has come, you may be able to find Mr. Bao, and I believe you will gain something from communicating with him!"

After seeing the contents of the letter, Bao Guowei couldn't help but let out a deep breath. He immediately understood what was going on.

As an expert on China, Arnold naturally has certain connections with the locals in Shanghai and even in the Jiangnan region.

The first to be affected was Dr. Charles from Suzhou Church Hospital.

Both of them are from London and basically belong to the same circle.

Through Charles' channels, Arnold learned about the various inventions and reforms in Chinese medicine initiated by himself.

Whether it was the advanced medical methods provided by Bao Guowei or the invention of the "iron lung", Charles was deeply involved in it.

Even now, Suzhou Church Hospital has already used relevant treatment methods.

Bao Guowei had anticipated this situation. He had no expectations of the foreigners' credit.

Therefore, he had already discussed with Shen Shiwan regarding the penicillin-related treatment.

Zhang Taiyan’s treatment has always been under the name of “American Miracle Medicine”.

Even in the later stages, Bao Guowei also used some mild Chinese medicine treatments to confuse people.

To the extent that Charlie had no idea whether Zhang Taiyan's recovery was the result of traditional Chinese medicine or the work of "American miracle medicine".

Even in his opinion, all of the above drugs act as placebos.

What really works is a sufficient amount of allicin, plus the introduction of nutritional regulation, and most importantly, the invention of the "iron lung".

The "iron lung" greatly expanded the tolerance rate in treatment, allowing even an old man of Zhang Taiyan's age to rely on this machine to survive the illness.

The human body is a wonderful structure.

Most diseases cannot be completely cured by drugs. One's own immunity and recovery ability are the key to curing the disease.

Many drugs often only play an auxiliary therapeutic role, and it is the body that really works.

So, from this perspective, there is nothing wrong with Charlie's idea.

But think about it, Bao Guowei is not worried that these things will be learned by foreigners.

Whether it’s the basic concepts and technologies or a big thing like the “iron lung”, you can’t hide it even if you want to.

With the gradual promotion of advanced technology in China, it is only a matter of time before Western countries master it.

In a sense, Bao Guowei's arrival was like giving a strong push to modern medicine, which was still progressing slowly at that time and in this space and time.

His personal power is limited, but if he can promote the emergence of more technologies, it will be beneficial to all mankind.

Thinking of this, Bao Guowei continued to look back.

The content after that is very simple. It basically talks about the research process of penicillin by two scientists, Florey and Chain.

Perhaps because of their trust in Bao Guowei, the two people wrote down almost every detail of the research process and the difficulties they encountered in the letter.

The letter is so long that it looks more like a thesis than a letter.

In the article, the two mentioned their attempts at penicillin experiments.

Perhaps because of Bao Guowei's influence, the emergence of allicin greatly inspired scientists of that era.

As a result, research that was originally scheduled for several years was brought forward a lot.

Florey and Chain also started their collaboration many years in advance.

The two of them specifically conducted research on intravenous injection of the penicillin extract they produced on rabbits and mice.

Seeing this, Bao Guowei couldn't help but feel emotional. A genius is a genius. He just promoted allicin, and allowed these scientists to produce penicillin ahead of time.

Fortunately, we have now completed the purification and mass production of penicillin.

Otherwise, it is still unknown who will come first and who will come later!

At the beginning, the research was considered successful. Perhaps due to purity issues, the extracted penicillin did not have a significant effect on suppressing bacteria, and the experimental subjects did not get better.

I thought that as long as it was improved and purified, it could be fully studied.

This is not an easy task, but it is a research direction after all. With a clear direction and continuous attempts and efforts, there is no need to be afraid of failure.

Unfortunately, during the research process, they discovered a fatal problem!

That is, during an oral study using guinea pigs, the guinea pig experimental group had an extremely high mortality rate compared to the control group.

Such an accident was enough to curb the entire research process of penicillin.

Which doctor would dare to give his patients a drug that can cause fatal harm to guinea pigs?

The two encountered a bottleneck in the process. The large number of guinea pigs that died made them feel desperate.

They couldn't even find the cause of the guinea pig's death!

"In our final study, we ran into a difficult dilemma. We considered the possible allergic effect of penicillin, but we shouldn't have seen a large number of deaths due to allergic reactions, so we considered toxins or other reasons."

In this last statement, Bao Guowei could see the disappointment and pain these two people felt about reaching a bottleneck in their research.

Hope appears, and then is shattered again. No one can bear such a gap.

As for the issue of guinea pig death, Bao Guowei, who had history in his head, figured it out immediately.

Historically, there have been problems with penicillin research.

Finally, after a long period of research, scientists discovered that penicillin had an impact on the flora in the guinea pig's intestines.

This causes a large number of bacteria in the guinea pig's intestines to die, thus affecting the guinea pig's life.

This point has also been encountered in the previous research of Shanghai scientists.

However, Bao Guowei, who mastered the complete production process, solved this problem perfectly by just proposing a few ideas.

At the signature of the letter, Bao Guowei saw an invitation from two people.

"If possible, we hope to receive a reply from Mr. Bao who is far away in the East. If he has any suggestions on penicillin research, we sincerely hope to receive your guidance.

Here is another request. We sincerely invite Mr. Bao Guowei to come to Oxford University in London for exchanges and mutual learning. Whether it is the president or the students of Oxford University, what is more important is the expectation of both of us. We hope that you can visit!

PS: All expenses along the way will be borne by Oxford University. "

Seeing this, Bao Guowei felt as if he was in another world for a moment.

Oxford University and these two legendary scientists actually invited me?
This was something I couldn't even imagine in my previous life.

And it has only been less than a year since I traveled through time!

He read the letter in his hand again and again, and was sure of the details in it. It was definitely not someone's prank.

So, should I go to London?

(End of this chapter)