They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 205 The war of public opinion begins

At "Science" magazine, Zhang Wei's paper was sent directly to the editor-in-chief, Donald Kennedy.

"Induced pluripotent stem cells?" Looking at this topic, Donald Kennedy's expression suddenly became solemn.

He himself is a top biologist and medical scientist. With his academic level, just by seeing this phrase, he has already guessed what scientific research results Zhang Wei has made this time.

"Could it be that he used some induction method to make stem cells from some other cells? In this case, wouldn't it be possible to bypass the medical ethics issues of embryonic stem cells!"

Donald Kennedy immediately started flipping through the paper and soon read the entire paper.

"As I expected, he used fibroblasts to induce stem cells. Since fibroblasts can do it, can other cells also do it?"

Thinking of this, Donald Kennedy took a breath of air. He had fully realized the greatness of this scientific research result.

Zhang Wei used fibroblast cells in his experiments, but if the research continues, other cells can definitely be used to induce stem cells.

Just imagine, I can use blood cells and epidermal cells to induce stem cells, and then conduct experiments. Stem cells can generate various tissue cells, which means that blood cells and epidermal cells can also generate various tissues. cell.

Hawking blinked and silently repeated the name several times in his mind.

Hawking had lost the ability to speak when he underwent pneumonia surgery in 1985, so he could only use a speech synthesizer to ask what was going on.

Professor Stapp's team at Northwestern University has been committed to the research of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and their latest research direction is neuron therapy. If a patient's damaged neuron cells can be replaced, there is hope of overcoming both diseases.

Although Hawking could not speak, his eyes suddenly lit up after listening to Johnson's explanation.

Donald Kennedy sighed. Once a scientific research result of this level is published, it will definitely cause a sensation in the entire scientific community!

In an instant, Professor Johnson felt that the two plans he had envisioned for treating ALS could be implemented!

"The author's name is Zhang Wei, a Chinese scientist. Before this, he has published two important scientific research results..." Professor Johnson started to introduce.

Professor Johnson suddenly understood, perhaps asking who the author of this paper was.

In particular, he used a magnifying glass to carefully observe the photo of mouse nerve tissue showing fluorescence.

……

The appearance of this paper undoubtedly made him feel that after struggling painfully in the abyss of despair for a long time, he finally had a glimmer of light!
Hawking operated the speech synthesizer and pronounced one word: "The author..."

"Stephen, good news, someone has made a substitute for embryonic stem cells, and your ALS can be saved!"

Now that there are substitutes for embryonic stem cells, it means that there is finally no need to worry about medical ethics issues, and research that was once restricted can now continue.

Johnson suddenly beamed. He stood up, took the paper and ran out the door. He even couldn't help but jump up and down, like a happy child.

In the office, a thin man was sitting in a wheelchair, staring at the computer screen with his head tilted. His body was unable to move due to ALS, and he couldn't even use a mouse. He could only use his fingers and a Special equipment to operate computer pages.

And these are stem cells that can generate any organ, including the nervous system. It is no exaggeration to say that if you are not afraid of losing all your memories, I can give you a new one!
Of course, the creation of IPS cells is still far from being replaced. For medicine, this is simply an epic achievement!
For example, discovering a new treatment method, inventing a new examination equipment, or overcoming a certain difficult and complicated disease can only be regarded as childish in front of these achievements.

……

For example, if there is a problem with one of your organs, then you only need to draw a little blood, induce it into stem cells, regenerate the tissues and organs you need, and directly replace it. This is originally generated by your genes, and there is no rejection reaction!

"The clinical manifestation of ALS is that neurons will continue to degenerate. With this IPS cell, neuron cells can be generated to replace or regenerate the original neurons.

As Donald Kennedy had predicted, the paper immediately caused a stir in the scientific community.

Even if he goes to find Epstein, he is just using his insignificant power of action to maintain his final dignity. (dog head)

Professor Johnson quickly described everything about the paper and the treatment plan for ALS. Worried that Hawking would not understand, he brought the paper to Hawking and explained it in detail at the same time.

Johnson ran all the way and rushed into an office. At this time, he was sweating profusely, but he was still breathing heavily and shouted inside:

Years of ALS has left him with only three fingers left to move. Under the ruthless ravages of the disease, he seems to be trapped in an invisible cage, and his body gradually loses freedom. At this time, every time he moved his fingers, he seemed to be fighting against fate.

At this time, Professor Stapp was holding the latest issue of the journal "Science", which was really a treasure!
"Induced pluripotent stem cells! And as mentioned in this paper, they can differentiate into mouse nerve cells! In other words, the neuronal cells I need can also be differentiated!"

However, how to cultivate substitutes for neuronal cells has become the biggest difficulty for Stapp's team. From a scientific perspective, they can use embryonic stem cells to culture neuronal cells. But from a medical ethics perspective, this cannot be done.

There are too many research projects that require the use of embryonic stem cells, but due to medical ethical constraints, other methods can only be found.

But he never gave up. There was always a tenacious flame burning in his heart, which was the desire for health and the persistence for life!

For scientific researchers, this is like the road they used to live in suddenly opened up, and the end of the road is fame and money!
……

"Such good news must be told to him!"

It is not the famous "People's Daily", nor the "Global Times", nor local newspapers such as "Yangtze Evening News", "Guangzhou Daily", "Southern Metropolis Daily", etc., but "Reference News".

It is also possible to directly differentiate neural progenitor cells and use neurotrophic molecules derived from glial cells for transduction, so that neurons no longer degenerate and gradually restore their functions! "

"This Zhang Wei just invented genetic scissors not long ago, and then made IPS cells. Is he really a human? Does Zhang Wei represent a scientific research team or research institute? No, scientific research teams and research institutes all over the world The research institutes can’t be added up so quickly!”

He wanted to engrave this person who brought him hope in his heart.

Thinking of this, Professor Stapp's hands couldn't help but tremble. With this IPS cell, his research can finally continue.

Professor Johnson of the University of Cambridge in the UK, who has been dedicated to the research of ALS, is also holding the latest issue of "Science" and reading it over and over again.

……

In an era when newspapers were the mainstream media, the newspaper with the largest circulation in the country was definitely not someone else.

This thin man is Stephen William Hawking!

Zhang Wei's paper on IPS cells appears in the latest issue of the journal Science.

Desperate? Definitely desperate. This kind of despair is not a temporary depression, but a pain that goes deep into the bone marrow. This pain made him feel that the whole world had abandoned him.

The reason why "Reference News" had high sales was mainly because it was the only newspaper at that time that could legally directly publish foreign news. In "Reference News", you can see the latest news and news comments from all over the world. For a long time, it was the only window for Chinese people to understand foreign time.

The readers of "Reference News" are also mainly men with high education. Young and middle-aged men account for about 60% of the readers, and more than half of the readers have received a college education, and another quarter are high school students.

Before the rise of online media, "Reference News" actually had reporters stationed in more than 100 countries and regions, and a huge amount of news information was transmitted back to China every day.

Therefore, news screening has become one of the important tasks of the editorial department.

On this day, Editor-in-Chief Wang was sitting in front of the computer, looking at the news information submitted by the heads of each section, and was doing the final screening work.

The contents of the first few pages, the first page of headlines, the second page of news reviews, the third page of current affairs, the fourth page of world economy, and the fifth page of military sports, have all been finalized, and the remaining parts are relatively unimportant.

The sixth page is social culture and education, which mainly publishes social phenomena in various countries, such as monkeys fighting in Thailand, canned herring in Sweden is particularly smelly, German bread can kill people, etc.

In addition, there will be several short philosophical essays, including short stories such as "Reader" and "Yilin", which describe the young Einstein as an idiot.

The seventh page is science and technology, mainly publishing the latest scientific developments.

Unknowingly, Editor Wang reviewed the content of the seventh page. A title suddenly caught his eye and caught his attention instantly.

"The latest scientific research breakthrough, will humans live to be 200 years old?"

Who would be dissatisfied with longevity, just for this "live to 200 years old", it is worth clicking in to take a look!

Editor Wang clicked on the title and found that it was not an article published in a foreign science magazine, but a domestic submission, and the source was the Tsinghua University Journal.

Although Tsinghua University Journal is sponsored and published by Tsinghua University, it is also an academic journal and publishes scientific articles, which is understandable.

"How dare you brag like this! It's still alive to be 200 years old. It turns out it's a publication from our own country."

Editor Wang sighed lightly, but still read the article patiently.

The article introduces the results of IPS cells and the impact this result may have on the medical field. The article mentioned that with the advancement of scientific research, IPS cells can be used to overcome all human diseases, and humans will really be able to live 200 years by then. "This scientific research result sounds very good, but this title is a bit sensational." Editor Wang hesitated for a few seconds, but still put this news on the seventh page and made it the headline.

Mainly in the second half of the article, there is an interview with Meng Heming, director of the Biology Department of Tsinghua University. In the interview, Meng Heming affirmed that there is a theoretical basis for humans to live to 200 years old.

Since it is endorsed by experts, it is not considered fake news.

The key is that the title "Live 200 Years Old" is indeed very attractive. From the perspective of reporting news, the more content that can attract readers, the better.

……

The readership of "Reference News" has a relatively high level of education, and scientific news like this can easily arouse widespread discussion among readers.

We are all people with a certain cultural background. Although most readers do not understand molecular biology, they are definitely not ignorant.

And this kind of situation where you seem to understand something but not understand it is actually the most likely to trigger discussion.

If they were really an expert, they would know what IPS cells can do at a glance, and they would not discuss it. They could directly come up with scientifically based conclusions.

But people who seem to understand but don’t understand are different. They obviously don’t understand very well, but they still pretend to understand. Then they listen to some information from other places and piece together their own version. They feel that it makes sense. .

Then everyone comes up with different versions. You say your version, and I say my version. No one accepts the other's, and everyone thinks they are right. Doesn't this lead to conflict? Isn’t there a discussion? Didn’t a topic arise?

The same is true in today's Internet age. Two people who seem to understand but don't understand each other argue with each other, and in the end no one can convince the other. But when a bully tries to argue with an expert, he will find that no matter how hard he tries, he can't make up the slightest bit of truth. The insider can easily talk the bully into pieces.

This is actually caused by information asymmetry. They are experts, and they have more and more comprehensive information than you. You seem to understand but not fully, and the little information they have is incomplete. No matter how you argue, you can't argue with them.

So don't argue with experts on professional matters. If you are wrong, you can't win; if you are right, an expert can take advantage of the information gap and say you are wrong, but you still can't win.

"Reference News" is also very influential, not only among readers, but also among the media. Since other media cannot directly publish foreign news, they have to reprint foreign current affairs news from "Reference News".

This news about living to be 200 years old is obviously the type that is very suitable for reprinting.

First of all, the title is attractive enough. Everyone wants to live for two more years. When I see this title, I can’t help but take a closer look at the content.

Secondly, this is a piece of science and technology news that does not involve politics or economics. This type of news has no censorship threshold and does not involve public opinion-oriented issues.

The third thing is that it says that humans will live to be 200 years old, which is a future technological outlook. Since it is a technological outlook, you cannot judge it by right or wrong. It is the kind of content that you can brag without paying taxes.

What's more, there is expert endorsement in the article. The chairman of the biology department of Tsinghua University is professional and qualified, right? Even if it is a mistake, it is because the experts are wrong and it has nothing to do with me!
In 2005, after all, there were only a few experts who were sensationalists, and most experts were reliable. What's more, scientific research is inherently an academic issue, so in the eyes of readers, the chairman of the Department of Biology at Tsinghua University is trustworthy.

As a result, other newspapers and media began to reprint the news.

Everyone wants to live a few more years, even if they don't live to be 200 years old, if they can get a 100% discount and live to be years old, they will be satisfied.

After all, Kangxi, as emperor, could only borrow another five hundred years from heaven. We ordinary people should borrow less and make do with what we have.

Overnight, the topic of humans living to be 200 years old has become a hot topic.

At the same time, the Publicity Department of Tsinghua University also began to take action, submitting articles to various media to introduce the uses of IPS cells in the medical field.

For example, IPS cells can be used to generate pancreatic islet tissue to restore pancreatic islet function and treat diabetes.

For example, IPS cells can be used to generate bone marrow cells to replace aging bone marrow and treat cervical spondylosis and lumbar disc herniation.

Another example is that IPS cells can be used to culture organs. Hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and kidneys can all be replaced.

In short, which disease is more common, write an article on the treatment of that disease.

When the media saw these articles, they found that they were all about living to be 200 years old, so they were naturally happy to accept them.

Those who work in the media are bastards if they don’t take advantage of hot topics!
What's more, the content of these articles is indeed of high quality. Not only are the articles well written, they are also very novel and contain content that I have never seen before. The most important thing is that the content of these articles is related to the treatment of diseases.

Even now, topics related to medical care are the traffic code of the media. Those who work in self-media, as long as they shout about free medical care, even if it is only an argument without evidence, a group of people will discuss it, which can be said to be a hot topic.

The same was true in 2005. At that time, Chinese people had just begun to pay attention to the quality of life. People were no longer satisfied with eating and drinking well, but their requirements for health were also increasing day by day.

Diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and lumbar disc herniation all entered a period of high incidence from that era.

What about foot patches to treat diabetes, acupuncture to treat diabetes, drinking hypoglycemic tea to treat diabetes, and so-called magic medicine that can cure diseases? All kinds of IQ tax products were sold very fast at that time, and they cut a lot of leeks.

Those IQ taxes can cut leeks, and IPS cells, a therapy endorsed by professors from Tsinghua University, can naturally make people believe it.

Therefore, these articles related to disease treatment are very popular, and the sales of newspapers and periodicals have also increased.

This wave of public opinion has directly promoted the achievement of IPS cells as a cure-all for all diseases.

Of course, many media reporters were skeptical, so they interviewed experts in biology and medicine.

As a result, none of the experts interviewed said that this IPS cell is really so awesome!
Scholars in the fields of biology and medicine are well aware of what it means to replace embryonic stem cells. It is no exaggeration to say that these scholars are also the beneficiaries of the emergence of a substitute for embryonic stem cells. If they speak ill of IPS cells, wouldn't they be ruining their own jobs?
It stands to reason that the emergence of a new thing will inevitably replace the old thing, thereby damaging many interests.

For example, the emergence of automobiles will inevitably make horse-drawn carriage drivers unemployed; the popularity of mobile phones will also make the girls at the paging station lose their jobs; the rise of online shopping will make landlords and middlemen clamor to ban online shopping.

However, this is not the case with IPS cells, because the embryonic stem cells they replace are inherently prohibited.

Therefore, the existence of this new technology does not offend the old vested interests, because there are no vested interests at all.

As a result, a situation has formed. In academia, everyone is praising the new technology of IPS cells, because everyone is a beneficiary.

……

After the first round of campaigning ended, the second round of public opinion offensive began immediately.

An article appeared in a well-known media with the title "IPS cells that can cure all diseases were developed by the Chinese!" 》

Previous reports on human life spans of 200 years said that IPS cells were the result of research by Princeton University in the United States. At that time, readers took it for granted. Americans have a high level of science and technology, so they should develop this kind of high technology.

However, now it is said that this was done by the Chinese. This reversal immediately attracted the attention of countless readers.

Next, other media also rushed to report that the inventor of IPS cells was named Zhang Wei, a Chinese from Tsinghua University.

The name Zhang Wei is too common to be unusual, but precisely because it is so common, when you hear this name, you know that he is Chinese.

Not long ago, the media was boasting about how powerful this IPS cell is, which can cure all diseases and enable people to live to 200 years. At that time, many people lamented that the level of American technology is amazing.

Now that they know that this achievement was actually made by the Chinese, many people feel proud and proud, and their national self-confidence has been greatly satisfied.

The thinking of Chinese people in this era is a bit like that of Indians.

Indians brag all day about how many CEOs in the United States are of Indian origin, how many Indian programmers there are in Silicon Valley, and how many Indian engineers there are at NASA. As if this is such an honor for India.

But in fact, these are the brain drain of India. The outstanding talents have gone to serve the Americans instead of building their own country. What else is left in India? This is not the pride of the nation, it is the shame of the nation!

The Chinese people at that time also had this mentality. Those Chinese without Chinese nationality would feel very proud if they achieved something, as if it was an achievement achieved by the Chinese.

This is inevitable when a country is weak in strength and strong in self-esteem. Because there is really nothing to show off, so being able to strengthen the country and being recognized is something to be proud of.

To put it bluntly, I just want to show off my skills.

In today's China, in various fields, there are many achievements that can be shown off. In the end, I get tired of showing off and no longer care about such things.

I am number one in the world, why do I care what you little bastards think?
Just when countless readers were proud that the inventor of IPS cells was Chinese, another report poured cold water on everyone.

This media originally planned to go to Tsing University to interview Zhang Wei, but it turned out that Zhang Wei had left Tsing University and went to the United States!

Immediately afterwards, the media published an article like this: "Why can't we retain talents!" 》

This article immediately caused a stir!

(End of this chapter)