Without hesitating, Johnson agreed to cooperate with the experiment.
The Chinese researcher named Zhao Shuxuan told him that the relevant clinical experiments had only been performed on mice twice, thus there was a huge amount of risk. However, for Johnson, this was the only way he could return to Earth.
If he couldn’t get rid of the Martian bacteria on his body, he might have to stay at the Moon Palace for the rest of his life. He would be isolated or even abandoned from the Earth’s ecosystem.
He still had a family on Earth, waiting for him to go home.
He sat on the medical bed and quietly waited for the two researchers to prepare his medicine. After a while, a Chinese researcher came over with three capsules and some water.
“Eat it.”
Johnson took the three capsules from Zhao Shuxuan and didn’t hesitate. He threw them in his mouth and downed it with the water.
Johnson quietly waited on the medical bed for five minutes. He looked around restlessly and saw that everyone in the laboratory was looking at him. He asked awkwardly, “So, that’s it?”
“Not sure.” Zhao Shuxuan shook his head and said, “We’ll find out in an hour or two. I suggest you lie down and sleep for a while.”
Johnson: “Can I ask where the capsules came from? I’m just curious…”
Professor Leslie and Professor Zhao Shuxuan looked at each other. Zhao Shuxuan replied, “You don’t have to know too much.”
Johnson said, “Is it a secret?”
“Not quite.” Leslie shrugged and said, “It’s just that… Only one person has an immune response to the bacteria.”
Johnson frowned and said, “So what?”
Professor Leslie coughed and said, “The bacteria are mainly lodged in the large intestine…”
Johnson’s face went white.
“Sh*t… Is it…”
“That’s right, it’s sh*t… Or rather, sh*t extract, so not quite sh*t.”
Johnson could feel his stomach turn. He resisted the urge to vomit and asked, “You think this thing… will work?”
“I’m… not sure.” Professor Leslie smiled awkwardly and said, “Sometimes you have to try before you know, right?”
Johnson wanted to say something when suddenly, an intense feeling of drowsiness hit his brain. He began squeezing his forehead.
Professor Leslie noticed his reaction, and she suddenly looked ecstatic.
Johnson was on the verge of passing out, and he could faintly hear the conversation between the two.
“Jesus… Our hypothesis was correct!”
“Antibodies that can kill X-0172 can be extracted from the metabolites of colonizer 3!”
“Let’s report our research to the world.”
“…”
…
While the Moon Palace researchers were completing their experiment…
All the way on Earth, at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
Lu Zhou had been monitoring the experiment closely. After he heard that the experiment was a success, he quickly went to the newly established X-0172 laboratory. He asked Professor Liu Zuobing, the person in charge, about the research on the Moon Palace.
“How are the other two colonists doing?”
“Their sleep is stable, and we tried various methods to wake them up; cold temperatures, hot temperatures, electric shock, etc. They wouldn’t wake up no matter what,” Professor Liu said. “Overall, the experiment was quite successful. At the very least, it confirmed our hypothesis. From the metabolite samples, traces of spores were seen in both colonists.”
Lu Zhou immediately said, “Which meant that Travis’ body did indeed produce X-0172 antibodies.”
“Theoretically, that is true.” Professor Liu nodded and sighed. He then said, “However, the cumbersome thing is that even if we have the antibodies, we can only remove some of the X-0172 in the colonizers. It is difficult to kill the rest of the bacterial spores.”
Spores, also known as endospores, were a kind of dormant, non-reproductive structure produced by some bacteria. They were also known as the most resistant living organisms in the world. They had outstanding heat resistance, chemical resistance, and radiation resistance properties.
Take the Clostridium Botulinum as an example. It would take 5 to 9.5 hours for its spores to be killed in boiling water. On the other hand, the anti-radiation ability of Bacillus Megaterium was 36 times stronger than that of E. coli cells. Even under direct radiation of ultraviolet rays and high-energy rays, the Bacillus Megaterium could still survive for a long time.
Spores had no significant metabolic effects. They contained the threat of potential germination. They were called a type of hidden life form because once the environmental conditions were optimal, the spores could germinate into vegetative cells at any time.
It was almost like the dried vegetable packets that came with instant noodles. The dried vegetables would be rejuvenated when it came into contact with water.
Therefore, if they couldn’t kill the spores, something bad could happen sooner or later.
The laboratory went quiet.
Professor Liu Zuobing stared at the thesis that came from the Moon Palace. He began to contemplate.
Lu Zhou could sense from the dignified look of the old professor that this problem wasn’t going to be easy to solve. Even if they combined the world’s top biomedical research and development forces, it would still be difficult to find a solution.
Lu Zhou: “Is there anything we can do about the spores?”
“If there is, we have already tried it.” Professor Liu shook his head and said, “International experts have held several meetings. The most reliable method is probably intermittent sterilization, by constantly activating the spores before killing them. However, there’s one problem. We might be able to reduce the number of X-0172 bacteria in these colonists, but it is very difficult to remove all of them.”
Lu Zhou: “Is it kind of like cancer cells that have spread across the body?”
Professor Liu: “Not quite, but kind of.”
Lu Zhou thought for a second and suddenly asked, “What about the antibody extracts? Do we have them in our laboratory?”
Professor Liu pointed at a sealed glass bottle on the table.
“It’s right here… Why?”
Lu Zhou: “Can I take a copy to do some research on my own?”
Professor Liu looked at Lu Zhou weirdly and said, “You can… But I don’t think there is a point.”
He believed in Lu Zhou’s research abilities, but this just didn’t make sense.
This was only a metabolite extract; it didn’t contain any X-0172.
Why does he want to research the metabolite extract?
Lu Zhou casually smiled and replied, “I guess we’ll find out. You never know.”
