Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1319 - 998 Collapse

Chapter 1319: Chapter 998 Collapse

"I remember Professor Guan had a paper before that dealt with the study of tumor cell expressed proteins, where it mentioned the modification of these expressed proteins. I’ve read this paper published in the journal ’Science’, and I want to ask what specific methods were used to achieve the modification, labeling, and other techniques at that time?"

The enthusiasm for the discussion was very high, as after all, everyone here is a top expert in the industry. Such a defense meeting is inherently a process of questioning and clarification, and after fierce debate, the true value of your subject is ultimately determined.

That previous paper?

Guan Ruyan only knew roughly, after all, the experiment was not designed by him, nor was it personally completed by him, and he did not write the paper, so he certainly would not be very clear about some of the deeper aspects.

Lu Xiaolu had not yet arrived, and quite some time had passed. There had never been such an occurrence before. Every time there was an academic conference, Lu Xiaolu was always by Guan Ruyan’s side, never leaving him. Yet now, at such an important meeting, Lu Xiaolu had actually deserted at the last moment, but one couldn’t blame him. Other things can be tolerated, but not diarrhea.

Guan Ruyan wanted to make a phone call, but because Principal Ruo and Academician Xiang were sitting beside him, he was unable to do so. At this moment, Guan Ruyan was on pins and needles. Not answering the question was certainly not an option, but if he attempted to answer, it was very likely that his response would give him away. After all, the experts present were all truly top-notch and wouldn’t be easily fooled. Great Professor Guan was truly suffering as if he were on a frying pan.

"We used a method cross-disciplinary with click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. Since Sharpless first introduced the concept of click chemistry in 1998 and subsequently refined it, the core idea of click chemistry has been: synthetic chemistry should be oriented around molecular function, constructing a variety of molecular assemblies quickly and reliably through the simple joining of small units. This theory has given us the possibility to conjugate protein molecules. Bioorthogonal chemistry, on the other hand, has provided us with another tool. The early bioorthogonal reactions were mainly couplings intended for labeling, tracking, enriching, or modifying target biomolecules in complex biological settings. After more than a decade of development, over a dozen bioorthogonal reactions suitable for living cells have been discovered or developed, playing an important role in live-cell imaging and proteomics, showing great potential. We combined these to achieve assembly, labeling, tracking, enrichment, and so on."

Although Guan Ruyan was not as capable as Lu Xiaolu, as a graduate who studied in Germany, his foundation was certainly not weak. He was not only knowledgeable about these cutting-edge technologies but also very familiar with them and could recite information readily. However, he did not address the crux of the question. The focal point of the question could only be answered by the person who had truly spearheaded the project.

Clearly, the American experts were somewhat confused, therefore, they were very dissatisfied with Guan Ruyan’s answer, "Professor Guan, you actually did not directly answer my question. I’m not asking you to respond to the history and application of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry theories. I know you combined the two theories, but I want to know how you merged them, what exactly was integrated, and how they organically combine. I need more detailed information. For instance, telling me that you solved the problem using a quadratic function is far from enough. You should present the complete process of solving it."

As for the specific details, Guan Ruyan really couldn’t think of them at the moment. It’s like a garment having a very beautiful pattern, and when someone asks how this pattern was created, what artistic inspiration was borrowed for the design, the techniques used in drawing the pattern, the formula for the dye colors, and so on—all these specifics would definitely be known only to the person who went through the entire process.

So to answer these details, Guan Ruyan was unable to provide an answer; he could only wait for Lu Xiaolu to return. But, this fellow was still nowhere to be seen, possibly collapsed in the restroom.

"Sorry, my throat is a little uncomfortable; give me a moment," Guan Ruyan said, taking another sip of water to buy himself some time.

Guan Ruyan motioned with his hand, and a student at the door immediately came in. Guan Ruyan whispered, "Professor Lu is unwell and just went to the restroom. I’m worried he may have fainted there. Go take a look."

After arranging for the student to search for Lu Xiaolu, Guan Ruyan began to address the American professor’s question again, coughing a few times: "My throat is truly uncomfortable right now, it feels like there’s a flame burning. When my assistant returns, I’ll have him answer your question in detail."

It was not polite to continue to press someone who was physically unwell and unable to speak, so the American professor temporarily stopped asking questions.

Yang Ping found it very strange. Guan Ruyan had just spoken so many irrelevant words, so why didn’t he directly answer the question? Need for secrecy? That shouldn’t be the case, as there was no need for it. He had already published everything in the ’Science’ journal, and the methods used were developed on the basis of technology that was internationally shared. Not only should he, but he also had an obligation to inform his peers.

Vaguely, Yang Ping felt that there must be some special secret behind this, rather than a matter of secrecy. Could it be that Lu Xiaolu completed all these projects, and Guan Ruyan did not know the details? Impossible, Yang Ping thought. Such an idea was preposterous and disrespectful. Guan Ruyan was a young talent at Nandu Medical University, a candidate for the upcoming Outstanding Young Talent award, with outstanding current scientific output. How could he possibly be unclear about his own project? Impossible; there must be some other reason, but Yang Ping couldn’t think of it at the moment.