Chapter 1023: Never-before-seen silicon-based protein
"When was the last time you took a shower?"
When he heard this question, Liu Yang was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He thought for a while and replied: "The day before yesterday, I did personal cleaning with Xin Lin after handing over the shift in the afternoon."
Unlike on earth, water resources on a spacecraft are very precious, and astronauts have many various problems during the bathing process, so the frequency of bathing is not so high.
When the Tiangong Space Station performed space missions in the past, they generally did not take a shower, or they would take a shower only once every week or more than ten days.
And it is different from taking a bath on earth. Their bathing in space is not so much a bath as a wipe.
Mainly use special bath liquid and wipe the body to clean the body.
After all, in a weightless environment, it is almost impossible to take a shower like on Earth. Microscopic water droplets floating in the air will enter the lungs as the human body breathes, and will also cause certain damage to the spacecraft.
"Two days ago..."
Hearing this time point, Zhai Zhigang thought for a while and said: "You can take a bath later, clean your body, and then record the condition of your skin."
After a slight pause, he spread his hands, and there were dots of skin fragments on his thumb and index finger.
Although it looked like skin flakes that naturally fall off due to human body metabolism, Zhai Zhigang was keenly aware of something abnormal.
Normally, the body will not metabolize this kind of skin debris in two or three days. Unless you are sick, it will just be a little greasy at most.
Like the situation that happened to Liu Yang in front of him, he had a vague feeling that something was not right.
On the opposite side, Liu Yang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll clean it up later, and then record it to see how long it takes for such debris to appear."
In the past, when performing missions on the Tiangong Space Station, it might have been a bit troublesome to fully clean up the body.
However, after the new space shuttle was developed, bathing in space became much more convenient.
The rotating shower device developed by the aerospace group can effectively solve the difficulty of bathing in space and encounter various troublesome problems.
However, considering that the amount of water resources in space is limited after all, although the water resources they use for bathing will be recycled, they will not take baths so frequently during missions.
Generally speaking, taking a bath once every three to five days and completely cleansing the body is enough.
After all, there is very little dust in space, and it is under zero-gravity conditions. Only astronauts who have done a lot of exercise or performed intensive out-of-vehicle operations will sweat more.
Taking a shower is nothing more than cleaning up the body's metabolism, sweat, etc.
Zhai Zhigang nodded, seeming to remember something again, and said quickly: "Wait a minute, I will collect some of these debris on your arm and make a slice sample for observation."
As he spoke, he quickly propped up his body and floated towards the locker on the side.
After a while, he carefully scraped off some skin debris from Liu Yang's arm with a scraper and put it into a glass vessel for preservation.
If there is really a problem, then they should be able to observe something from these skin debris.
Of course, he would rather have everything be normal.
After all, what they are facing now are microorganisms and bacteria from outside the earth. Once harmful infections occur, the consequences are difficult to predict.
After arranging Liu Yang, Zhai Zhigang looked at Jiang Xinlin aside and said, "Xinlin, roll up your sleeves and let me take a look."
Apart from Liu Yang, Jiang Xinlin has the largest temperature fluctuation among the four of them.
On the side, Jiang Xinlin walked over and said with a frown: "Captain, do you suspect that our infection symptoms have only started to appear now?"
He just saw the dots of skin flakes on Liu Yang's arms. Under normal circumstances, these would be nothing, but the point is that they are not normal now.
Under the premise of being infected with Martian microorganisms, this change is naturally worrying.
Zhai Zhigang's face looked a little heavy: "It's hard to say, I'm not sure what the situation is yet."
At least in his opinion, Liu Yang's situation was indeed not quite right.
Jiang Xinlin nodded, rolled up the sleeves of the spacesuit in the cabin, and exposed his arms full of strong muscles.
Zhai Zhigang came over and looked carefully, confirming that there were no skin debris like Liu Yang's on Jiang Xinlin's arms.
This actually made him relax a little.
If Jiang Xinlin also experiences this abnormal situation, then they may be really in danger this time.
Of course, it's possible that there isn't much of a problem.
After all, judging from Liu Yang's current physical condition, all her physical indicators are currently normal.
But it was this abnormality within the normal that made him feel that something was wrong more and more.
These microorganisms from Mars may not be as simple as imagined, nor are they simply symbiotic or parasitic on them.
.......
At the same time, on the other side.
Earth, Jinling, China.
A press conference was held at an affiliated space base, publicly admitting that the four astronauts may have been infected with microbial bacteria from Mars, announcing corresponding resettlement measures, and opening the study of Martian microorganisms to the international community. Other countries are welcome to participate.
After coming in.
Almost on the same day, governments from various countries contacted China's outer suburbs and the Xinghai Research Institute through various channels, hoping to arrange personnel to go to the moon to participate in the research on Martian microorganisms.
Xu Chuan ignored these applications and left them all to the Space Administration and the outer suburbs of Xinmen for processing. They had more complete and proficient systems and processing methods.
He is currently at the Xia Shu Space Base, flipping through a piece of data that was transmitted back from the Hanhai space shuttle half an hour ago.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! On the way back from Mars, Liu Yang, the only woman among the four astronauts, experienced new changes in her physical condition.
However, research in the biological field is not his expertise. Even in the Xinghai Research Institute, there are no relevant departments or research laboratories.
In addition, what they have to face now is not only microorganisms, but also alien microorganisms that are rarely encountered in the world for the first time. This kind of unpopularity has reached the extreme. It can even be said that few people in the world are studying this field. It is really very surprising.
Headache.
However, when faced with an unknown thing, everyone’s understanding is actually about the same.
The scientific research experience of researchers in the field of microorganisms may not necessarily be of much reference value for the study of Martian microorganisms.
After all, this is life on another planet, and the environment they live in is completely different from the ecosystem on Earth.
Therefore, these microorganisms from Mars may evolve or possess a set of life mechanisms that are completely different from life on Earth.
For example, among the three microorganisms discovered by four astronauts on Mars, one of the larger microorganisms is covered with a silicon-based carapace. Based on the existing data, no one can determine whether it is carbon-based.
Life is still silicon-based life.
Of course, when scholars in professional fields face problems in such cutting-edge fields, stronger professional knowledge still plays a great role.
At least it can help them make some necessary judgments and understandings.
In the office, Professor Chen Yunze, a microbial medicine expert from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, holds a latest research report in his hand, frowning and thinking about something.
After taking a long breath, he put down the documents in his hands and looked at Xu Chuan, who was sitting across from the sofa. With a solemn expression on his face, he said with some concern: "The situation may be a little bad."
"you say."
Xu Chuan said calmly: "What's the problem?"
Whenever there is a major event, he must be calm. Faced with something like this that may endanger the entire human race, all he can do is to maintain his composure and try his best to appease the military's morale.
After all, if he was in chaos, the people below would probably be even more confused and fearful.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Yunze said: "The latest data fed back by the astronauts on the Hanhai space shuttle shows that astronaut Liu Yang's skin has abnormal metabolism."
"They conducted cross-section experiments and tests on the metabolized skin debris. Judging from the reported data, the silicon content in Liu Yang's skin debris far exceeded the normal value."
"And judging from the protein analysis results, a never-before-seen silicon protein structure appeared in these skin debris."
"I suspect that the Martian microorganisms in Liu Yang's body have participated in her body metabolism."
“Never-before-seen silicon protein structure?”
Hearing this answer, Xu Chuan frowned and continued to ask: "Is the problem serious?"
"It's not certain yet."
Chen Yunze shook his head and said: "Silicon is one of more than 60 kinds of nutrients necessary for the human body, especially playing a key role in bone health and overall function."
"But it mainly exists in the human body in water-soluble form, such as metasilicic acid (H2SIO3). Silicon in human blood mainly exists in the form of silicic acid and is not bound to proteins."
"Silicon in the human body mainly exists in connective tissue. Generally, about 50% of the silicon ingested into the human body will be excreted in urine. The rest will be absorbed into hair, eyebrows, nails, bones, joints, etc.
Body structure.”
"But from a physiological point of view, it is extremely rare for silicon to appear in human skin. Even if it does appear, it is usually combined with mucopolysaccharides and then further combined with proteins."
"As for these skin debris on Liu Yang's body, I have initially confirmed a silicone protein substance that is directly combined with protein."
"Judging from the current analysis and testing reports, its main component is a combination of silicate and protein. The specific components will need to be detected through detailed instruments after she returns to the moon."
"This is not good news overall."
"Because normally silicon surfaces are extremely lacking in surface adsorption, so they don't adsorb proteins, at least in the human body."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan frowned and asked, "Will this have any impact on Liu Yang's body?"
Chen Yunze thought for a while and said: "According to the test data they transmitted back, Liu Yang's metabolism data is at least three times faster than that of humans under normal conditions."
"Of course, I am referring to the skin on the body surface here, because I have not seen corresponding data for other parts."
"Judging from the relevant data, the content of silicon in the skin produced by these metabolisms seriously exceeds the standard, which means that she may face the risk of being deficient in silicates that are rapidly metabolized in the body."
"I'm not a professional doctor, and I don't know very well what diseases will occur if the human body lacks silicon."
As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Ming, a professor of medicine at the side.
Zhao Ming didn't waste any time and said directly: "Silicon is one of the trace elements necessary for the human body. It is a very safe substance. It does not react with the human immune system, will not be swallowed by cells, and will not breed bacteria or
Reacts with chemicals."
"The human body cannot synthesize silicon, so it must obtain it from food. If there is a lack of silicon, the main symptoms include easy breakage of hair and nails, loss of luster of the skin, and slow growth."
"At the same time, silicon can participate in the calcification of human bones and play a role in the initial stage of calcification. When the human body is deficient in silicon, hair and nails will easily break."
"At present, it is not certain what impact these Martian microorganisms will have on Liu Yang. If it is serious, I am even worried that these Martian microorganisms will decompose the bones, nails, hair and other structures in her body."
"Once this symptom occurs, it may lead to nail and hair loss, fractures, joint damage and other conditions."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "It is recommended to strengthen observations in this area in the future, and try to avoid heavy physical work, collisions, etc.,"
"In addition, based on the abnormal silicon content metabolized by Liu Yang's skin, it is recommended that she supplement silicon in an appropriate amount, at least based on the excess silicon metabolized by the skin."
"only....."
After hesitating, he looked at Xu Chuan and then said: "I don't know if the Hanhai space shuttle carries food rich in silicon."
Hearing this, Xu Chuan quickly asked: "What are the foods rich in silicon?"
Xu Chuan nodded, breathed a sigh of relief, and said: "The quantity of kelp and mushrooms carried on the space shuttle is relatively small, but the quantity of eggs, meat and seafood is sufficient. Even if the amount of food they consume every day is doubled, times, it will be enough to support them until they reach the moon."
Zhao Ming also breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly: "Academician Xu, please prepare a food list for the astronauts. After I do an analysis, I will provide a targeted food list to enhance the intake." Diet list.”
Xu Chuan: "Okay, I'll have someone send it to you right away. Sorry to trouble you."
"No, no, this is what I should do." Zhao Ming said quickly.
Xu Chuan nodded and continued to ask: "Also, let me ask again, if Liu Yang's situation continues or worsens, what may happen to her body?"
.......
PS: It’s the last day, please give me your monthly tickets~☆(??w??)?(??????)??