Chapter 170 Gene Editing Technology and Urban Eating
Beautiful country.

Merck Research Institute.

Microbiologist and immunologist Maurice Hilert, holding a document in his hand, looked worse and worse the more he looked at it.

At the end, he yelled hysterically: "F**K, why did such an important invention not belong to the United States, but to that backward Eastern country?"

For a nationalist who advocates Anglo-Saxon supremacy, he could not accept that this advanced invention and technology was developed by the nation he had always looked down upon.

What is even more unforgivable is that their research institute has also been researching hepatitis B vaccine.

A lot of money has been spent, but there has been no progress.

Just now, someone told him that someone has developed the world's first hepatitis B vaccine, and has conducted human clinical trials, with very good results.

If it was done by other research institutes in the great United States, he would at most curse it as shit luck, and then think of using some dishonorable means to see if he could get any benefits.

Now, they have absolutely no chance of getting the invention of that Eastern country through other channels.

Thinking of this, he began to look depressed and a string of swear words came out of his mouth.

"Mr. Hilt, there is one more piece of news. I am not sure whether it is accurate or not, so I did not indicate it in the information."

Assistant Erickson, who was standing next to him, said in a low voice.

He was very afraid of the "tyrant" of the scientific community in front of him, fearing that he would be subjected to a "baptism" of spitting if he said something wrong.

But that news is so important that it cannot be ignored.

So he had no choice but to bite the bullet and interrupt Morris Hillett's venting.

I was afraid that after I finished speaking, I would be blamed again.

"What's the matter? Why don't you tell me everything at once? Do you want to see me laugh at you?"

After hearing what his assistant said, Morris Hilt stopped cursing, turned to look at the other party, and said angrily.

Since he didn't give any explanation after being beaten, he would try out the power of this 'hair dryer' in the scientific world.

"Mr. Hilt, I'm sorry. I didn't hide it on purpose. I was not sure about the authenticity of this matter, so I didn't say it out loud."

Erickson hastened to explain.

"Hmph, why don't you just tell me now."

"Yes, Mr. Hilt, the news is that the Eastern country has also spread the word that it is ready to contribute this scientific research result to other powerful countries or scientific research institutions to study it together."

"what?"

Morris Hilt said with an expression of disbelief.

"Are they crazy? They want to give away such important results for free."

This is the world's most advanced technology. Currently, only one Eastern country has developed it and has also conducted human clinical trials.

This result cannot be faked.

If it was his own research institute, he would definitely try his best to keep the news secret first, and then announce some insignificant content to the public when the time was right.

Finally, the reputation came out, and the products were launched simultaneously to maximize the profits.

I didn't expect that Eastern countries would actually contribute it. It's such a waste of resources.

Then, his expression suddenly changed from angry to happy.

“Great, these idiots, probably for fame, are distributing their hard-earned research results to the whole world in order to earn a name for themselves.

Moreover, they probably couldn't imagine how important this research result is. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as countries and research institutions around the world verify that this result is indeed true.

This discovery is at least worthy of a Nobel Prize, and most importantly, the financial benefits involved are immeasurable.

You should know that according to incomplete statistics, there are at least hundreds of millions of hepatitis B virus carriers in the world. These people are also the hosts of the virus. Through them, everyone in the world will be at risk of infection.

If we can obtain their research results and develop the next generation of vaccines based on them, then our Merck Research Institute will gain both fame and fortune.”

As he spoke, he imagined his future success and fame, and couldn't help but dance with joy.

Eriksson made a bitter face and took a step back inconspicuously.

After the superior in front of him calmed down a little, he said:
"Mr. Hilt, in fact, they said on the surface that they were sharing, but in private, there is a price to pay. They need a large amount of high-end research equipment and expensive research materials.

Whoever contributes more equipment and materials will get the research results first. Those who contribute less will have to wait one or two years before they may have a chance. "

After saying that, he took another step back.

He knew that Hitler, the "tyrant", was going to become hysterical again.

For his own safety, he dared not gamble on the other party's kindness.

Sure enough, his caution was right.

Maurice Hillett was stunned for a moment, and then his face returned to its liver color.

Various words beginning with F and S popped out of his mouth one after another.

When he was tired of scolding, he angrily said to Erickson:
"Damn it, why don't you give me a glass of water quickly? Can't you see I'm thirsty?"

After drinking a glass of water and letting out a long breath, he slumped down in his chair and ordered, “These cunning guys.

This requires us to bid, and the highest bidder wins.

You should immediately go and check out the other research institutes. It would be best if you could get their attitude towards this matter and their offer price."

Hear his words.

Erickson felt relieved and said hurriedly, "Yes, Mr. Hilt, I'll go right away."

After saying that, he ran out in a hurry.

When he was the only one left in the office, Morris Hillett looked through the materials on the table with a grim expression.

When he saw the transliteration of "Meng De Wang", he thought about it carefully, dug out the previous information from the filing cabinet, compared it, and then muttered to himself:

"It's this guy again. Could it be that an Eastern country really has an amazing immunologist?"

The name on the information he just saw was Wang Mengde.

The last time the measles vaccine was successfully developed, it attracted the attention of all the world's renowned research institutes.

The Merck Institute was no exception. It collected a lot of information through various means and even cut out photos of Wang Mengde from newspapers.

At the beginning, everyone thought that Eastern countries were very backward in all aspects, and they might have been lucky enough to develop the measles vaccine.

Collecting information is just a routine matter.

Unexpectedly, this person's name appears now.

Although he is often hysterical, Morris Hillert's professionalism is also among the best in the world.

He knew that such coincidences would not happen one after another.

That can only mean one thing, that a genius has appeared in this world.

After a moment's hesitation, he picked up the long-unused phone on his desk, dialed a number, and waited for the other party to answer before saying:
"I need to investigate a person from an Eastern country. I will send you his information later.

By the way, it would be the best if I could get this person to come to the United States and join my research institute."

The other party didn't say much, just said "hmm" to indicate that he received it, and then hung up the phone. Not caring about the other party's attitude, Morris Hilt hung up the phone and his mood improved.

The person he invited this time holds an important position in one of the most powerful departments in the country. On this planet, investigating one person is a piece of cake.

Not only the Merck Institute, but other well-known research institutes in the world have also taken action, each of them showing their unique capabilities.

Just to get a head start.

Although some losses will certainly be incurred this time, in order not to fall behind other competitors, the Eastern countries will have to benefit from it.

As for why we don’t unite and do business with Eastern countries together.

This is all due to the competitive methods they used before, which led to a complete lack of trust in each other.

No one can guarantee whether the information finally obtained has been tampered with by others.

Changing even one number can be fatal.

Beijing.

Vaccine Research Group.

In Liu Shuwei's office.

Wang Mengde sat opposite him, holding an enamel pot and warming his hands.

Just now, he rode his bicycle and rushed here from the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Even though he was wearing the woolen gloves knitted for him by He Shengnan, his hands were still frozen red because they let in air.

Nowadays, both adults and children are prone to frostbite in winter.

Especially some children, they habitually get frostbite on their hands and ears every year. Everyone is used to it, otherwise it would be heartbreaking to see.

"Team Leader Wang, I don't understand why we should donate the hepatitis B vaccine that we worked so hard to develop."

Liu Shuwei said angrily.

A few days ago, when he learned the news, he strongly opposed it.

Unfortunately, this was a decision made by our superiors, and no matter how little others say, they cannot change the result.

Just when he was feeling depressed, he heard from somewhere else that this was Wang Mengde's suggestion, and he immediately quit.

"Old Liu, don't be anxious. Let me tell you slowly."

Wang Mengde saw how excited he was and comforted him, "As you know, the hepatitis B vaccine we developed this time uses the blood of hepatitis B patients.

The serum is then extracted, diluted, and heated to finally obtain the vaccine.

This method has several fatal weaknesses. That is, if it is injected into everyone, a large amount of patient blood will be required, which is difficult to obtain.

In addition, these patients’ blood will inevitably carry other viruses. If they are infected with other viruses in order to prevent hepatitis B, it will not be worth the loss.”

After a pause, he saw that Liu Shuwei was listening attentively, his face became serious, and he continued:

“After my analysis, this method of producing vaccines is doomed to fail in large-scale production and injection, so it is better to use it to exchange for our continued experimental equipment and materials.

And, most importantly, I already have other ideas that, if successful, can be mass-produced without the risk of contracting other blood diseases.”

The method he mentioned is the gene editing technology that will be popular in the future.

With the use of this technology, the hepatitis B vaccine has ushered in a real spring.

"Really, Team Leader Wang, do you have any new ideas?"

Liu Shuwei couldn't contain his excitement and asked hurriedly.

He completely forgot that he was planning to go and question someone, and his mind was completely focused on the new idea that Wang Mengde mentioned.

If there is new technology that can avoid all the shortcomings of blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine, he feels that it is completely acceptable to give away the old technology.

Moreover, this is conditional on having access to a large number of high-end testing equipment.

It can be said to be both fame and fortune.

"of course it's true."

Wang Mengde then selectively talked about some simple content regarding gene editing technology.

These contents were not researched until twenty years later.

If it were announced now, it would be no less than dropping an 'atomic bomb' on the world. It would definitely cause a global sensation and would be much more shocking than the discovery of the hepatitis B vaccine.

There is absolutely no comparison between the two.

"Team Leader Wang, there are many things you said that I don't quite understand. We still need to do more research and experiments to see if it will work."

After listening for a while, Liu Shuwei's brows were furrowed.

He found that he didn't understand a lot of things and felt confused.

He hasn't experienced this feeling for a long time.

The last time was when he had just arrived in the United States and took a class taught by a world-class professor. The feeling was similar.

"Old Liu, we can't be too hasty, we need to study it bit by bit.

By the way, the research on blood-borne hepatitis B vaccine cannot be relaxed. Several people can be assigned to carry out the work simultaneously.

As the samples may contain not only hepatitis B virus but also other viruses, I have some ideas, which is to use some disinfection methods and multi-step processing. "

Wang Mengde talked about several methods that can effectively inactivate and treat many viruses.

After these steps, basically all known viruses will be eliminated, including the "dwarf disease" virus that was not discovered until more than 20 years later.

They chatted with Liu Shuwei for a long time, and only stopped when it was time to get off work.

Wang Mengde did not go back to the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but rode his bicycle directly back to Yuer Hutong.

His grandparents went into the city two days ago.

There was no room for them at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, so they had to live here, and they were mainly taken care of by Wang Hao.

When he entered the house, he saw Wang Jinghui sitting on a chair, holding his waist, and asked quickly: "Grandpa, how does your waist feel?"

A few days ago, Wang Jinghui fell and couldn't straighten his back.

It happened that Wang Mengde went back to visit them and gave him a massage, which helped him feel better.

After all, he was old, and if he wanted to recover, he needed several days of massage. So after Wang Mengde's strong persuasion, he and Wang Tianshi went to the city to live for a while.

"Meng De is back from get off work, and I'm much better now."

"That's great, Grandpa and Grandma, let's go eat together."

As he spoke, he supported them, crossed the alley and walked towards Di'anmen Street.

They went into a restaurant and started ordering two dishes and some staple foods.

At this time, this public-private joint-venture restaurant called 'Yimin Hotel' was filled with customers speaking accents from cities around Beijing, such as Tianjin, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang.

They chose to eat in Beijing because there was nothing to eat locally and all the restaurants in surrounding cities were sold out.

(End of this chapter)