Chapter 291: You Will Become – a Mutant (Part One)
When Jacob saw the confused look in Xu Cheng’s eyes, he roughly explained to him, “Now I can be sure that a critical reason you are okay with so many genes from other species inside your cells is the water bear genome. Let me briefly give you a lesson on the micro-animal called a water bear. The reason it is able to survive in the harshest environments is that its own genome has strong adaptation abilities. The human genome is isolated, and we will die if it gets mutated or damaged, and many other animals are like this too. However, 18% of a water bear’s genetic pool is derived from that of other species, which means that they can quickly absorb the surrounding bacteria or organisms’ DNA to help themselves adapt to the new environment and survive. They can separate those foreign genes into separate genome branches, and that’s the biggest reason you can survive as all the foreign genes were stabilized in your body instead of going rampant and taking your life! This is really a perfect idea to add water bear to the mix, it’s just pure genius!”
Jacob exclaimed and cheered and he even wanted to pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
Xu Cheng didn’t really understand these scientific concepts, he just frowned and looked at his repaired wounds and asked, “I remember I was injured by bullet wounds. Can you explain in simpler terms for me?”
Jacob said, “In fact, you should already be dead by now.”
“Dead?’ Xu Cheng frowned.
Jacob nodded. “On the way to the hospital, you already died from excessive blood loss. If your doctor didn’t check carefully, they would’ve already pronounced you dead. But, the water bear’s genes saved you. The water bear is an organism that can be frozen for 50 years and then be reanimated after. It doesn’t matter how harsh the environment is, it can fake death perfectly and enter a state of cryptobiosis. That way, no matter what kind of sh-t you are in, your heart will still beat very subtly, and your brain will enter a coma, while the water bear genes cracked your other bodily functions and put them into dormancy. Even the ECG would be barely able to detect signs of life from you. Now, do you understand?”
Xu Cheng nodded, feeling a little less confused. He pointed at his wound and said, “Then what’s with my wounds?”
Jacob: “That’s easier to explain. First of all, water bears can dehydrate its cells to freeze them and sent them into a suspended state, and so, the moment it comes into contact with water, the cells will be revitalized. Their cells are riddled with pores so they can absorb all kinds of particles, including those that make up DNA from the environment. Lastly, they are very good at repairing DNA strands, repairing the damage caused by dehydration.”
Xu Cheng sunk into his thoughts.
