Looking at Xu Mang and the fruit basket in his hand, my original sympathy for him disappeared in an instant. Thinking about what he usually did, I felt so angry.

The second grandfather said angrily: "Xu Mang...I told you last night not to be late...Why are you still late for me? I have made Academician Zhong wait for so long. Will it last longer in the future?"

Remember? He is also a great scientist, so why do he still have no concept of time?"

"oops..."

"I don't want to either." Xu Mang said with a bitter look on his face: "As soon as I close my eyes and open them, I realize that I am late... Second Grandpa really doesn't blame me. Besides, I just returned to China and the time difference has not been reversed yet. This happens

The situation is excusable."

"..."

Faced with Xu Mang's various reasons, the second grandfather did not want to pursue it too much. After all, the next thing is the focus.

"This is Academician Zhong, the head of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences." The second grandfather looked at Academician Zhong, and then said: "This is Xu Mang, a bastard who never looks good every day.

."

Academician Zhong felt that the relationship between his old friend and Xu Mang seemed to be much stronger than he had imagined. He suddenly felt relieved and said with a smile: "Professor Xu Mang...this is the first time we met. Many of your deeds

, I’ve heard a lot.”

"It's all a small fight." Xu Mang said with a smile: "Academician Zhong... let's get straight to the point. What are you doing with me?"

"We want to use your 'Xu Man System' to help predict the three-dimensional structure of proteins from amino acid sequences." Academician Zhong said: "The second one is about research in the field of gene editing. We hope you can develop a

The new system can control DNA changes more accurately."

Xu Mang:???

What?

New...new system?

When Xu Mang heard what Academician Zhong said, he looked at him in confusion and said, "I remember... the most popular one now is the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system. This system was only born more than ten years ago. This is...

..Does this require new ones?”

"right!"

"In fact, the crispr-cas9 gene editing system has huge flaws. It is not that flexible and often makes mistakes." Academician Zhong said: "We need to find new gene editing technologies to make up for the shortcomings of crispr-cas9. As far as I know.

..No one in the world is working on this.”

Xu Mang didn't speak, and looked at Academician Zhong quietly. It is not difficult to develop a new gene editing system. At present, CRISPR-cas9 is the most perfect form. In fact, CRISPR is a repeated sequence in the genome of prokaryotes.

, is an immune weapon produced in the fight between bacteria and viruses.

To put it simply, viruses can integrate their own genes into bacteria and use bacterial cellular tools to serve their own gene replication. In order to eliminate the foreign invading genes of viruses, bacteria have evolved the CRISPR-Cas9 system.

Using this system, bacteria can quietly excise viral genes from their own genome. In other words, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology is a technology for specific DNA modification of targeted genes.

"Do you have any requirements?" Xu Mang asked.

"have!"

"Reduce the risk of off-target occurrence." Academician Zhong said: "The new system requires higher safety than the crispr-cas9 system. The so-called safety means accuracy. Only by greatly reducing the probability of off-target can we achieve greater safety."

Xu Mang smiled bitterly and said helplessly: "The difficulty is not that great. The Crispr-Cas9 system is recognized as the best gene editing technology in the world. It is cheap and easy to use. It is actually quite accurate relatively speaking. Suddenly I thought

If you pursue higher precision, you will lose other characteristics."

"for example..."

"The new system will be extremely expensive." Xu Mang said: "Unless artificial intelligence is used, experimental simulations are first conducted on the computer and then experiments are conducted based on the success rate. However, this requires the accumulation of a large amount of data. I do not have this data.

"

At this time,

Academician Zhong showed a smile: "As for the data, Professor Xu Mang, you don't need to worry at all. We have a very complete database that can be developed for you. You can use the database at will."

I...

Come prepared!

Xu Mang opened his mouth, but finally swallowed the words. CRISPR gene editing technology is known as the most disruptive emerging technology in the 21st century. It has also been affected by various negative impacts. Xu Mang is worried about the new

The system will bring new panic to the world.

"What's wrong with Professor Xu Mang?" Academician Zhong saw that Xu Mang was hesitant to speak and asked hurriedly: "Is there any problem? If there is a problem, you can raise it in person and we can discuss it now."

"No...it's nothing." Xu Mang said helplessly: "Can you give me a few days to think about it?"

"good!"

"I know what you are worried about." Academician Zhong nodded and said seriously: "Professor Xu Mang...gene editing technology is not as scary as you think. In fact, gene editing technology is the most promising so far to completely cure HIV.

A technology for heart disease and cancer.”

Xu Mang smiled bitterly and said: "I know this... I am engaged in theoretical physics, which is the easiest to subvert the world structure, such as the mass-energy equation... Academician Zhong, don't worry, I am not the kind of person with very old-fashioned ideas, it's just me

I felt like I might not succeed.”

Academician Zhong didn't say anything. At this time, he couldn't put too much pressure on Xu Mang.

"By the way..."

"If I accept it, where will my job be?" Xu Mang asked curiously, "Should I go to the capital?"

"unnecessary."

"I think the Department of Biology building at Fuda is very good. It has very complete supporting facilities and you don't need to come to the capital." Academician Zhong said.

"oh..."

"Then I'll leave first and I'll give you an answer in a few days."

As soon as the words fell,

Xu Mang carried the fruit basket he had just brought and left the principal's office. Faced with this situation, the second grandfather had long been used to it, but Academician Zhong looked confused. This... This fruit is a sentimental purchase.

Come and have your own food?

...

Xu Mang slumped on the sofa alone, thinking about the new system in the field of gene editing. The new system is unlikely to be possible, and the difficulty is not only sporadic. In most cases, it should be optimized on the CRISPR system.

but...

The difficulty is not that great!

The CRISPR system is already a game changer in the field of biological sciences. This technology discovers, excises and replaces specific parts of DNA through specially programmed enzymes called Cas9, and its characteristics are very obvious: it is cheap, simple and powerful.

"Can we still make a breakthrough?" Xu Mang scratched his head, a little confused for a moment. According to the historical process, a breakthrough can be made. After all, CRISPR technology was discovered in the early 1990s, and then seven years later

Later it became the most popular gene editing tool in fields such as human biology, agriculture and microbiology.

but...

There is one thing Xu Mang wants to complain about. The United States is so shameless that it secretly obtained the first patent authorization of CRISPR. This means that it may be illegal to use CRISPR technology in the future.

I finally made it to five o'clock in the afternoon,

When Yang Xiaoman came home from get off work, she saw Xu Mang lying motionless on the sofa. She was not surprised that her husband was paralyzed at every turn, so he walked up to him and asked curiously: "Can you

Have you been lying on the sofa all day?"

"No."

"It's only half a day..." Xu Mang said with a smile: "Xiao Man... I went to see my second grandfather in the morning, and he introduced me to a person, the person in charge of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Academy of Sciences

Academician Ren Zhong.”

Yang Xiaoman frowned and asked calmly: "Are I looking for your help again?"

"Um!"

"My second grandfather's friend, but I also want to challenge it." Xu Mang said seriously: "This is about the research direction in the field of gene editing, looking for a new editing tool system that is better than the existing CRISPR system."

Hearing Xu Mang's words, Yang Xiaoman's face was full of confusion, and he couldn't understand what he was talking about. This guy's field was getting wider and wider, and it began to involve the field of gene editing...

"well?"

"Big idiot?"

"Are you engaged in physics?" Yang Xiaoman sat next to Xu Mang and asked curiously: "I find that your partiality is getting more and more serious. You are a theoretical physicist, can you do your job well?

His/her own job?”

"well..."

"Those who are capable should work harder." Xu Mang said with a smile, "Isn't this the truth?"

"Fool!"

Yang Xiaoman rolled her eyes and asked calmly: "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll cook it for you? Do you also want braised pork? How about... steamed sea bass?"

"casual."

"As long as it's made by you, I like to eat it." Xu Mang said casually, and the result was such an absent-minded remark that made Yang Xiaoman run into the kitchen. Even the heavy oil smoke could not stop Xu Mang from eating it.

Cooking.
To be continued...