Without any hesitation, Johnson agreed to cooperate with the experiment.
Even though the China researcher named Zhao Shuxuan emphasized to him that the relevant clinical experiments had only been done on mice twice, directly applying it to humans might be accompanied by certain risks. 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 on the Moon Palace for the rest of his life, isolated from Earth's ecosystem, or even abandoned.
For him, who had a family on Earth and had people waiting for him to go back, this was unacceptable.
He sat next to the medical bed and quietly waited for the two researchers in the infirmary to mix the medicine. After a while, the China researcher who brought him here brought three capsules and a small bag of water.
"Eat this."
Johnson took the three capsules from Zhao Shuxuan's hand and didn't hesitate. He threw the capsules into his mouth and took a sip of the water.
Johnson sat by the medical bed and waited quietly for five minutes. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone in the laboratory was looking at him, so he spoke awkwardly.
He awkwardly said, "Oh, that's it?"
"I don't know." Zhao Shuxuan shook his head and said, "We won't know the specifics for another hour or two. I suggest you lie down and sleep for a while."
Johnson: "Can I ask, where did those capsules come from? Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious … "
Professor Leslie and Professor Zhao Shuxuan looked at each other, and they had a strange look on their faces.
"Knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing for you."
Johnson said, "Is it confidential?"
"Not really." Professor Leslie shrugged and said, "It's just … Only one person has developed an immune response to the bacteria."
Johnson frowned and said, "So?"
Professor Leslie coughed and said, "And this bacteria is mainly lodged in the esophagus, especially in the large intestine area …"
Johnson's face instantly changed.
"Sh * t … Could it be …"
"That's right, it's Sh * t … or Sh * t's extract. But I think there should be quite a few differences."
Johnson felt his stomach churn, and he resisted the urge to vomit. He stared at Lu Zhou and asked, "Are you sure this thing … works?"
"I … I'm not sure." Professor Leslie smiled awkwardly and said, "But some things have to be tried, right?"
Johnson wanted to say something, but he suddenly felt sleepy. He couldn't help but place his index finger between his eyebrows.
Professor Leslie and Professor Zhao Shuxuan's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.
With his last bit of consciousness, Johnson vaguely heard the conversation between the two.
"God … Our speculation is correct!"
"The antibodies that can kill the X-0172 bacteria are indeed in the extract of the metabolites of colonist No. 3!"
"… Let's report the success of the research."
"…"
…
Almost at the same time that the Moon Palace researchers finished their experiment.
Far away on Earth, at the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
Lu Zhou had been paying close attention to the progress of the experiment. After hearing about the success of the experiment, he immediately went to the recently established X-0172 bacteria laboratory and asked Professor Liu Zuobing, the person in charge of the laboratory, about the research on the Moon Palace.
"How are the two colonists doing?"
"They're sleeping very well. We tried various physical methods, such as low temperatures, overheating, and electrostatic, but they couldn't wake them up." Professor Liu adjusted his glasses and said, "Overall, the experiment was quite successful, and it verified our conjecture. From the metabolite samples, we found traces of spores in the metabolites of both colonists. "
Lu Zhou immediately said, "Which means Travis' body did produce antibodies against the X-0172 bacteria."
"In theory, that should be the case." Professor Liu nodded and sighed. He then said, "However, the problem is that even if we find the antibodies and can remove some of the X-0172 bacteria from the colonists' bodies, it will be difficult to kill the spores with the antibodies."
Spores, also known as endospores, were dormant bodies of bacteria. They were also known as the most tenacious organisms in the biological world. They had outstanding resistance to heat, chemicals, and radiation.
For example, the spores of Clostridium botulinum took 5 to 9.5 hours to be killed in boiling water. The radiation resistance of Bacillus giganteus was 36 times stronger than that of I. Even under direct exposure to ultraviolet and high-energy rays, it could still maintain its original life form for a long time.
The free-living spores didn't have any obvious metabolic functions. They only maintained their potential germination, so they were also called hidden life forms. Once the environmental conditions were right, the spores could germinate into vegetative cells at any time.
To make an inappropriate analogy, it was like instant noodles thrown into boiling water or dehydrated vegetable buns.
Therefore, if they couldn't completely kill the spores in the colonists' bodies, it would only be a matter of time before the spores reappeared.
The atmosphere in the laboratory fell into silence.
Professor Liu Zuobing stared at the Moon Palace thesis on the computer screen and went into deep thought.
From the dignified look in the old professor's eyes, Lu Zhou could clearly feel that it would not be easy to solve this problem. Even with the world's top biomedical research and development forces, it wouldn't be easy to find a solution.
Lu Zhou: "About the spores … Is there no good way to do it?"
"If there was, we would have tried it already." Professor Liu shook his head and said, "International experts have discussed this several times. So far, the most reliable idea is probably intermittent sterilization. Keep activating the spores, then kill them. But this involves a more troublesome problem. We might be able to repeatedly reduce the amount of X-0172 bacteria in the colonists' bodies, but it will be difficult to completely eliminate them. "
Lu Zhou: "Like cancer cells that have spread?"
Professor Liu: "It's not very appropriate, but it's a good analogy."
After listening to Professor Liu's statement, Lu Zhou thought for a bit and suddenly spoke.
"What about the extracts containing antibodies? Does our laboratory have any? "
Professor Liu pointed at the sealed glass bottle on the table.
"It's right here … Why?"
Lu Zhou: "Can I bring a copy back to study?"
Professor Liu Zuobing looked at Lu Zhou strangely. "You can … But I don't think it makes any sense."
It wasn't that he didn't believe in Lu Zhou's abilities, but he didn't think there was any point in doing so.
This was just a metabolic extract, there was no X-0172 bacteria in it.
Even if Lu Zhou wanted to study it, he shouldn't use this thing, right?
Lu Zhou smiled faintly and spoke.
"We'll only know if it makes sense after we try it."
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