"At present, we have not found that apart from the symptoms of lethargy, this bacterium will have other effects on the health of the host. We have reason to believe that the secretion of pheromones is an active defense mechanism of the bacterium, by reducing metabolism and actively sleeping. The form helps the host actively hibernate. In this dormant state, the host's tolerance to extreme environments will be greatly improved, and at the same time, it only needs to consume very little energy to ensure the minimum life characteristics."
Professor Liu Zuobing smiled and waved his hand: "Don't worry, the specimens sent to Earth have undergone the highest level of inactivation. As long as you strictly follow the regulations in the safety manual, there will basically be no problems."
Lu Zhou pondered for a moment and asked, "Which possibility do you prefer?"
When he arrived at the laboratory, Professor Liu Zuobing and several of his students were busy observing and recording something in front of the electron microscope.
"There is some progress," Professor Liu Zuobing pushed up his glasses and continued, "According to the latest research results disclosed by Professor Leslie and Professor Zhao Shuxuan, we can currently confirm that the symptoms of drowsiness appeared in the colonists of the Ares Project. , should be caused by the amino acid-like derivatives secreted by X-0172 bacteria when forming spores."
A quadcopter drone with a small TV hanging on it flew unsteadily from the kitchen.
"It has been delivered." Pointing to the slide specimen placed on the microscope, Professor Liu Zuobing smiled and joked, "I bet this is probably the most expensive shit in the world."
Having said this, Professor Liu Zuobing paused for a few seconds, looked at the thoughtful Lu Zhou, and continued.
After leaving the task of washing the dishes and clearing the table to Xiao Ai, Lu Zhou took a coat from the door and put it on himself, then called Wang Peng.
Lu Zhou reacted immediately: "In other words, the colonist who showed clinical symptoms of lethargy may have antibodies to the X-0172 bacteria in his body?"
"Have the samples been delivered?"
If one-third of the people on the planet were to sleep twice as long each day, it’s hard to say what impact it would have on modern society.
The report on Martian bacteria ends and the news continues on television.
Sitting at the dining table and enjoying breakfast quietly, Lu Zhou glanced at the calendar on his phone and muttered to himself.
Professor Liu Zuobing: “I prefer the first one.”
In fact, strictly speaking, research in the biological field is not the strength of Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
"As for one possibility, under the stimulation of certain external physical conditions, the bacteria judge that the host is in an extremely harsh environment and actively release spores and dormant pheromones to protect the host."
Although he was a little sensitive to the word "basic", Lu Zhou still believed that Professor Liu's level would not make such a low-level mistake.
Soon a black Hongqi car stopped outside the villa and took him from the door of his home to the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
"Active dormancy," suddenly threw out a word that surprised Lu Zhou, and Professor Liu explained in an inferential tone, "Assuming that Mars once had an atmosphere, a magnetic field, and even a rich ecosystem, when encountering violent geological conditions When changes or interference from other external factors make Mars less habitable, the pheromones released by this bacterium when producing spores may help the host survive the period of scarcity, just like hibernation."
Although sleepiness is not a fatal symptom, if you doze off all day long, it will be quite a headache for a normal person.
Without disturbing their research, and waiting quietly for them to finish their work, Lu Zhou stepped forward, looked at Professor Liu and asked.
Although his main research direction is cryobiology, since he often studies cell samples collected in extreme environments, in a sense, he has a better say in the X-0172 bacteria.
[Okay master, leave it to me! ·(·口·丿).]
Helping the host survive a period of extremely harsh climate is ostensibly helping the host survive the crisis, but in fact it is the bacterium's self-rescue. Therefore, compared to a parasitic relationship, the relationship between this bacterium and its host is more like a mutualistic relationship.
"Has the research made any progress?"
However, sometimes when it comes to research in cutting-edge fields, it is not necessary to find professional counterparts to do it. After all, the more cutting-edge things are, even if they are professional counterparts, they are at most more experienced. Everyone’s starting point is actually the same.
Lu Zhou also joked.
"Amino acid derivatives?" Lu Zhou frowned and continued to ask, "Is the problem serious?"
"Eighty-seven days left."
"...Yesterday, the United Nations held an extraordinary meeting in New York and determined an emergency plan to deal with the global crisis of invasion of Martian bacteria. A research team composed of researchers from many countries will station at the Moon Palace Space Station within a week to jointly investigate the bacterial invasion. Start research.”
At present, the only person in the Institute of Advanced Studies who can be called a master in the field of microbiology is Professor Liu Zuobing, who is in charge of the "cryo-dormancy" project.
"The problem is here, we haven't fully understood its generation mechanism yet," Professor Liu Zuobing sighed. "There are currently two speculations. One is that when the host itself develops an immune response to the foreign bacteria, the autoantibodies Under attack, the bacteria are forced to produce spores out of self-preservation, and at the same time, active dormant pheromones are forced to be released."
Especially for astrobiology, an unpopular branch among the unpopular, not to mention that the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study cannot find anyone studying this field. Even if it were placed in the top five national comprehensive universities in the country, it would not be possible to find many.
Lu Zhou: "... beneficial? Can you explain it to me in detail?"
"... It is probably also the most dangerous in the world."
"Xiao Ai, I'll leave it to you to put away the dishes."
Currently, one of the three colonists has discovered a similar situation, which means the probability is at least one-third.
"It's not serious at all. This kind of amino acid derivative is very interesting. Not only does it not harm the host, it is even... beneficial to the host."
"China News, reporting for you."
After all, X-0172 bacteria were also collected from extreme environments...
Time is running out...
Professor Liu Zuobing nodded cautiously and said.
After getting off the car, Lu Zhou went straight to the building of the Institute of Biology.
After a pause, Lu Zhou asked the question he was most concerned about.
Lu Zhou thought for a moment and then asked: "But what about the mechanism of releasing pheromones?"
After picking up the remote control and turning off the TV, Lu Zhou took out a tissue and wiped his mouth, then pushed away his chair and stood up from the dining table.
"At the same time, based on the research decision of the International Health Organization, the bacterium was officially named X-0172 bacterium."
"It's hard to say, but I think it is like this!"