"It's different. Although there are many grooves in the cerebral cortex, at least every wrinkle is continuous and regular. However, the cortex of the brain in these experiments seems to have been gnawed away by hard corrosion, creating irregular gaps and holes.
"Judging from the shape and edges, it doesn't feel like it was cut directly by a sharp weapon, but it feels like it is being eroded a little bit." Sister Lan replied, and her words made Zhang Ke's skin crawl.
"Could it be that... Guixu is researching small bugs that can directly eat the brain? Do you want to use it as a biological weapon?" I don't know if it was an illusion. When he said this, Zhang Ke subconsciously felt as if there were countless things in his mind.
The flying insects were buzzing, and a feeling of chill suddenly arose.
"No, if the purpose is really that simple, there is no need to mobilize so many troops, and it cannot bear the weight of the core project." Sister Lan said rather lightly, "What the Guixu organization needs, if it can only be killed in large numbers
Weapons for civilians don’t need to go through so many twists and turns. Even I myself have been involved in the development of many powerful weapons. Which one is not more useful than a fragile and scratchy insect?"
"... Based on what you just said, I think it has gone beyond the scope of a terrorist organization." Zhang Ke said truthfully.
"It is indeed shocking, but even if the Guixu organization has mastered these weapons, it will not carry out massacres, because it is meaningless for them to kill the goose to retrieve the eggs and fish from the marsh. You must know that Guixu is always a profit-seeking organization, and it is not like those in fictional stories.
The so-called demons or villains who want to destroy the world." Sister Lan explained:
"What's more, I didn't find anything related to bugs in the experimental area. After staring at the floating brain for a long time, I suddenly thought of a possibility - that is, prions."
"Prions... I seem to have the impression that they are also called prions in biological taxonomy. They are smaller than viruses, but do not have chromosomal genes such as DNA or RNA, and are only composed of protein structures.
A rare pathogen. Because there is no genetic material, scientists still have a lot of controversy and believe that it should not be classified as a complete organism."
Zhang Ke recalled the knowledge he had learned in the past and said:
"After this pathogen enters a healthy host, it will convert all normal proteins in the body into its own kind, causing disease in body organs or loss of certain physiological functions, and it will not be detected by the immune system
and attacks. Humans know very little about this pathogen, so once infected it is almost impossible to cure, with a fatality rate approaching one hundred percent."
"Yes, for example, the notorious mad cow disease is because farmers chop dead cows into stuffing and feed them to live cows, which leads to a large number of prions being transmitted among the cattle. There are also Kuru spread by some primitive tribes
It is also because of the local ritual custom of eating the brains of deceased elders that this prion is passed down from generation to generation." Sister Lan said:
"All prions discovered so far, and the diseases they cause, almost without exception, attack the central nervous system, especially the most active brain, causing patients to suffer from mental disorder, out-of-control madness and even systemic neurological disorders. And these
The diseased brain, whether it is human or animal, will take on an almost sponge-like foam-"
"It's because the brain is already rich in protein, so it's easier to be targeted, right? After the original dense brain structure is eroded, it naturally turns into a loose foam." Zhang Ke responded casually, but at this moment, he suddenly thought of it.
What? His eyes suddenly became nervous:
"By the way, you said that there are irregular holes like moth-eaten holes in the ravines of the brain. Could it be that..."
"Well, this is an early symptom of prion infection in the brain. It starts to erode from the surface first, and then goes deep into the interior little by little, eventually completely destroying this delicate structure." Sister Lan nodded and said, "In addition, I discovered that those life-support capsules
In addition, they are specially equipped with instant incineration devices, which can incinerate everything in the life-support cabin into light plasma smoke within a few minutes by pressing a button."
"Because prions are highly resistant in all aspects, antibiotics have no effect on them, and most disinfectants cannot shake the stable molecular structure. Even high temperature and high pressure have little effect. They can only be incinerated by extremely high temperatures."
Only by doing everything can we eradicate the roots." Zhang Ke murmured.
"Yes, this almost proves that my guess is completely correct. The core project of Guixu is the study of brain prions. For this purpose, they prepared countless fresh brain samples and allowed them to be corroded by infection.
Record their various data changes." Sister Lan said with a somewhat gloomy look, "But... I don't know whether those were cloned or... I don't know."
Of course Zhang Ke understood what she was omitting to say - perhaps, those diseased brains were once living human beings during their lifetimes, but for the Guixu organization, just go to a small war-torn country and get a batch of
Ignorant and ignorant refugees have an easier job than just eating and drinking.
"If this is Guixu's core project, then what are they going to do with such a dangerous thing...?" Zhang Ke noticed something strange, "Didn't you just say that Guixu is just a profit-seeking organization?
Don’t you have any intention of destroying the world and massacring mankind?”
"Yes, if their purpose is just to destroy mankind, then they only need to screen out a prion that spreads quickly and has a high fatality rate. There is no need for such troublesome long-term research, unless - what they need is to cultivate a prion
A special prion that will not cause death, is easy to control the progress, and can also produce other effects." A strange light shone through Sister Lan's deep eyes.
"Special effects? I can't figure out what other uses it can have besides making people sick?" Zhang Ke asked puzzledly, "Prions are essentially just protein particles, and the principle of causing disease is to destroy the body's
The configuration of other proteins is not like that of bacteria and fungi, and they can secrete some chemicals that may be useful to humans."
"Think about it, I just told you, where are those prions placed?"
"Uh, put it in the brains of those whose origins are unknown... Do you mean that they want to deliberately study detailed data on the destructive effects of prions on brain structures?" Zhang Ke asked.
"It can also be said that it is transformative." An astonishing answer came out of Sister Lan's mouth:
"If prions are allowed to erode and reproduce without restriction, it will naturally have destructive consequences for the body - but on the other hand, if we can control its reproduction and expansion at will, and let it obey the instructions obediently and be used by us, it will only
Causes limited structural modifications to the brain... Then the prion becomes a utility knife that can directly carve the brain."