Chapter 1034 Astronauts who lose their temperature sensitivity
Meanwhile, on the other side.
In the distant deep space, on the Hanhai space shuttle, in the crew cabin, after completing today's routine physical examination, Zhai Zhigang looked at Liu Yang, who had the worst symptoms of infection, and asked.
"From the physical examination indicators, your body structure is still undergoing mutations. Do you feel any discomforts? Or are there any physical problems?"
Liu Yang shook his head, looked at the back of his hand, his eyes fell on the skin with stars and reflected, and spoke in confusion.
"Apart from these changes in my body, I didn't feel anything wrong with myself. Being able to eat, sleep and move has not changed much from before, and I may even be a little more energetic."
In fact, when she first realized that her body was infected by Martian microorganisms and began to mutate, she was actually very panicked.
After all, when facing unknown things, human fear is born.
Especially their rhythm, which looks like they are infected with the legendary zombie virus, is mutating in an almost unpredictable direction.
However, as more than half a month passed, she found that the mutation in her body seemed to be less serious and terrifying, and her panic and fearful mood also stabilized a lot.
Even now, she has begun to feel in the mood to speculate on what she might become in the future.
After all, judging from the current mutation, except for the protein replacement of connective tissues such as skin, nails, hair and bone tissue, she has no other abnormalities in her entire body.
Of course, the most important thing is that this mutation did not make her whole body as terrifying as a zombie or a monster, and still maintained the shape of a human. At most, the details of the skin, nails, and hair are changed in different ways.
This greatly relieved her mood, at least she did not become a monster.
At this moment, Tang Hongbo, who floated out of the bathroom, came over and asked while wiping his hair with a special aerospace towel.
"It's nothing."
Liu Yang smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's not much different from the previous two days."
"That's fine. I hope we can return to Earth as soon as possible and cure the infection as soon as possible, alas."
After complaining casually, Tang Hongbo looked at Liu Yang and smiled and said, "By the way, Sister Liu, to be honest, can you bear such cold water when taking a bath?"
"When I opened the spray gun, I almost froze to death."
The bathroom on the Hanhai Space Shuttle is equipped with more advanced bathing equipment than the space station. It can not only imitate the conventional bathing and showering methods on earth, but also provide hot water for 24 hours.
Anyway, for them, water resources can be recycled, and the electricity is almost sufficient to boil water to play.
Just avoid water retention affecting the environmental control of the space station.
However, the engineer has long considered this point. There is an adsorption device in the bathroom, which can efficiently clean up the floating water vapor and water droplets scattered in the bathroom.
“Hmm? Cold?”
Hearing Tang Hongbo's words, Liu Yang subconsciously glanced at him and said, "No, I don't feel anything?"
Tang Hongbo looked question mark: "Didn't you take a shower before I took a shower?"
Liu Yang nodded and said casually: "It should be that I am right, but I don't seem to have the water temperature?"
"That's strange."
Tang Hongbo frowned and thought: "But I did feel that the water temperature was very cold at the beginning, and it took a long time to get used to it."
On the side, Zhai Zhigang seemed to have thought of something and said, "If I remember correctly, I cleaned myself yesterday in the space shuttle's domestic water circulation system, and the shower room and related equipment were powered off and the equipment was restarted."
"If this is the case, the temperature control of the shower system should be restored to the default setting and there is no hot water."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang and Tang Hongbo both looked over: "What do you mean is that I (Captain Liu) took a cold shower? But I (She) didn't feel anything?"
"This possibility is not ruled out."
Zhai Zhigang nodded, then walked towards the control room, turned on the computer mounted on the cabin wall, and recalled data related to the shower system.
Indeed, judging from the equipment log, at three o'clock yesterday morning, the water circulation system carried out the third self-cleaning during their voyage, and all related equipment such as showers were restarted.
Without paying attention to this, Liu Yang might have taken a cold shower with a water temperature of only a dozen degrees or even lower.
What's even more surprising is that she didn't feel the water was cold.
After realizing this, the three of them immediately conducted a simple test. Soon, the test results showed a not so wonderful answer.
Under the influence of Martian microorganisms, Liu Yang and Jiang Xinlin, who were most infected, may have had a "mistake" in their perception of temperature.
The water at nearly zero degrees is not very cold under the touch of the two.
...........
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Jinling, a sub-aerospace base.
In Academician Chang Huaxiang's office, after helping Xu Xiao to prepare for the launch of the brain-computer interface chip and bionic robotic arm, Xu Chuan focused his energy back to the manned fire-mounting project.
Looking through the documents in his hand, his eyes fell on the physical examination data of four astronauts of the Hanhai space shuttle and the biological data of Martian life. His eyes were filled with a look of thought.
It has to be said that the infection ability of these Martian lives is very powerful based on the current human understanding of microbiology and biology.
You should know that this manned fire-mounting project is not unprepared for preventing bacteria and viruses that may exist on Mars.
The equipment of the Huo space suit is fully enclosed, including protective measures at temporary bases and space shuttles after Mars samples were collected.
Although due to the conditions, the protection measures on the base and spacecraft cannot reach the level of biological BSL-4/3 laboratory, there are all air-sealed closed experimental rooms, isolation equipment, biosafety cabinets, and ventilation systems.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! You can infect astronauts through these protective methods. These ways of spreading life on Martian life or traditional methods of disinfection may have ways beyond imagination.
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Of course, what makes Xu Chuan even more confused is not how astronauts infected Martian microorganisms, but that these Martian microorganisms coexist with astronauts and cause mutations in their bodies.
In his opinion, this is even more confusing.
Since the four fire-driving teams confirmed that they were infected with Martian microbial bacteria, he has supplemented a lot of knowledge in the fields of infection such as microorganisms, bacteria and viruses.
Although it is not enough to make him a microbiology expert in a short period of time, for him, it is no problem to have a relatively in-depth understanding of these things.
Infection may be caused by various loopholes and not the most perfect protective measures.
But coexistence and mutation in the human body is quite confusing.
After thinking for a while, Xu Chuan looked up at Professor Chen Wenze, a microbiology expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and asked.
"Professor Chen, in the microbiology community, are there any microorganisms, bacteria or viruses that can significantly affect or transform the host?"
Hearing this question, Professor Chen Wenze thought for a moment and replied: "I don't know what the standard of the scale you mentioned in Academician Xu."
"However, there are indeed some living organisms that can affect or change the host in the microbial or parasitic fields."
"For example, Toxoplasma gondii hijacks the host's nervous system by secreting neurotransmitters (such as dopamine) and changes the host's behavior."
"Rats infected with Toxoplasma gondii will show lower fear responses and even become sluggish in response to other dangerous things."
"Or C. elegans infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa will show enhanced response to pheromones, promoting mating behavior with male nematodes."
"There are also common 'mantis' that are parasitized by 'ironeworms' and will show phototropism and water tropism, etc."
"These parasites or parasitic microorganisms are indeed able to influence the host by manipulating metabolism, mental control, and changing social behavior."
Xu Chuan nodded and continued to ask: "Is there anyone who can transform the host's body structure on a large scale without affecting the host's life?"
Chen Wenze: "You mean this kind of similar to Martian microorganisms?"
Xu Chuan nodded and said, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Professor Chen Wenze frowned, thought for a while before shook his head and replied: "No, at least not found on Earth at present."
"Even the Antarctic nanoarchae that was discovered in Antarctica in the early years, it can absorb the lipids of the host and change the structure of the lipid membrane, but it cannot achieve the level of this Martian microorganism."
After a brief pause, he looked over curiously and asked, "Is there any problem?"
Xu Chuan thought for a while and said, "According to what you said, and referring to the evolution of organisms on Earth and the isolation between different populations, even if four astronauts are infected with these microbial bacteria, they should not appear in their bodies."
Silicination of tissue structure.”
"Because for a creature, over a long period of evolution, they often evolve themselves to the form that is most suitable for the surrounding environment."
"For example, various living organisms on the earth, fish in the ocean evolved into fish gills, animals on land evolved into gas and lungs, plants evolved into chloroplasts, etc."
"Although there are indeed many parasitic organisms, these parasites are usually designed to reproduce themselves."
"The Martian microorganisms that infected four astronauts do not seem to have this purpose."
After pausing, he looked at Professor Chen Wenze and continued: "Generally, parasites will grow and develop in tissues and organs after invading the human body, and will continue to reproduce and increase until the host dies, or the host finds a way to check and balance.
, and then symbiosis.”
"However, judging from the excrement and blood of the four astronauts, the Martian microorganisms in their bodies reached a equilibrium about two days ago and did not continue to reproduce on a large scale."
"In addition, as Professor Chen said, even if it is parasitic, it is almost impossible for microorganisms or bacteria to transform the body structure of the host on a large scale.
"But these microorganisms on Mars show almost the opposite characteristics of their natural evolution."
Hearing this, Professor Chen Wenze quickly picked up the latest report from his desk that he had passed back from the Hanhai Space Shuttle.
As Xu Chuan said, about two days ago, the Martian microbial indicators in the bodies of the four astronauts almost never rose again.
This is almost impossible for hosts infected by microorganisms, bacteria and viruses.
Normally, microbial bacteria that are parasiticly infected in the host will constantly consume nutrients in the host and continue to reproduce and strengthen their own ethnic groups.
Unless it has been co-evolution for thousands of years, such as bacteria such as E. coli in the human intestine, symbiotics will occur.
Otherwise, these infections and Martian microorganisms that are parasitic in the human body will only continue to proliferate and metastasis in the human body like cancer cells, which will eventually lead to the death of the host.
"Maybe the maximum population of their reproductive self-limiting ability has been reached?"
Looking at the indicators on the report file, Professor Chen Wenze frowned and said, "Just like cancer cells in whales, the super-tumor structure can inhibit the cancer of surrounding normal cells, thereby preventing the infinite expansion of cancer cells in whales."
"Maybe this Martian microorganism also has this special mechanism?"
Xu Chuan nodded and said, "This possibility is not ruled out."
Professor Chen Wenze looked over and asked curiously: "Academician Xu, do you have any other speculations or guesses?"
Xu Chuan: "It does, but this kind of idea may be compared..."
After thinking about it, he found an adjective and continued: "It may be 'outrageous'."
“How to say it?”
After thinking for a while, Xu Chuan continued: "What if we consider that this Martian microorganism that infects astronauts did not evolve naturally?"
Hearing this, several people in the office looked over in surprise.
Xu Chuan took a deep breath and continued: "Generally speaking, if a creature wants to evolve a certain function, it must have this need, or it needs the external environment to force it to evolve this ability."
"And astronauts who have undergone these Martian microorganisms have more obvious resistance when facing a more harsh environment."
"The most typical ones are Liu Yang and Jiang Xinlin, who are more adaptable to lower temperature environments."
"And this should not usually occur with the effect of parasitic bacteria on the host."
"After all, there has never been one kind of life. For another kind of life, a mechanism that can make the other party adapt to the environment."
"This evolutionary mechanism will theoretically only appear on the ontology, not affecting the host."
"Unless...this life is created."
"Just like the 'viral vaccine' we make, it can achieve resistance to external viruses by stimulating the human immune system."
"This Martian microorganism that infects astronauts makes me feel a bit like this."