godfather of surgery

Chapter 1459 is for bringing good news.

Chapter 1459 is for bringing good news.

News of the successful carina reconstruction surgery spread faster than the flu in the general thoracic surgery department.

The next morning, as soon as Yang Ping entered the research institute building, he saw Director He standing at the elevator entrance with an expression he had never seen before. If he had to describe it, it was probably the smile of a top scorer in the college entrance examination after checking their scores.

“Professor Yang!” Director He’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Yang Ping. “The patient’s condition was very stable last night, with drainage of less than 100 milliliters. This morning, a follow-up chest X-ray showed good lung expansion and no air leakage at the anastomosis.”

"So you came here specifically to tell me this?" Yang Ping pressed the elevator button.

"Yes, I've been waiting here for half an hour." Director He didn't get into the elevator either.

Aren't you coming in?

"I'm not coming in; I need to go back and oversee the handover."

Yang Ping thought this guy was acting strangely; he was waiting at the elevator entrance just to say that.

Back in his office, Yang Ping turned on his computer to check for new emails.

There weren't many emails, only a dozen or so. Most were peer review invitations from academic journals, and some were submissions for conference abstracts. He quickly scanned them, rejecting several invitations that clearly didn't align with his research, leaving the rest for the afternoon.

He stood up, walked out of his office, and decided to take a tour of the lab. "Tour" was really just a casual stroll, chatting with students and checking on the experimental progress. This kind of informal interaction is often more effective than formal research group meetings, because students are more likely to say things they wouldn't dare say in a formal setting.

In the cell laboratory, Mannstein was leading two students in cell culture. He was wearing a T-shirt with "I Science" printed on it, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, he held a pipette in his hand, and his expression was as focused as if he were defusing a bomb.

Yang Ping didn't disturb him and stood at the door for a while.

Mannstein's operation was as precise as ever; pipetting, adding samples, mixing, centrifuging—every movement was fluid and graceful, like a meticulously choreographed dance.

“Professor?” After completing the last step, Mainstein looked up and saw Yang Ping. “Why are you standing at the door? Come in.”

"I didn't want to bother you." Yang Ping walked in. "What are you doing today?"

“Functional verification of the unknown factor.” Mainstein wiped his hands and took a petri dish from the incubator. “Look at this. This is a neuron with the recombinant unknown factor added. It differentiates very well, and the axon length is twice that of the control group. If we can confirm that this protein is the one that is working, then the value of this paper will be immeasurable.”

Yang Ping took the culture dish and observed it under the microscope. The neurons were indeed in excellent shape, with plump and round cell bodies and long, straight axons and dendrites, like small, leafy trees.

"Purified recombinant protein?" Yang Ping asked.

“Yes, we used the E. coli expression system, and the purified protein has a purity of over 95%,” Mainstein said. “Weber is using this protein to conduct stem cell co-culture experiments. If the results are also positive, then we can basically confirm its function.”

“The proteins expressed by E. coli may not be completely identical to the natural proteins in terms of structure and function,” Yang Ping cautioned. “You should also do a parallel validation test using a group of mammalian cells expressing the proteins.”

“It’s already underway,” Mainstein said. “The HEK293 cell expression system is about 60% purified and should be ready next week.”

Yang Ping nodded and returned the petri dish to Mainstein.

“By the way, Professor,” Mainstein suddenly lowered his voice, “did you see Weber’s experiment on temperature exposure time?”

“Yes, I saw it. Tang Shun told me.”

"Don't you find this interesting?" Mainstein's eyes lit up. "The first two hours after cell seeding are the window period for cells to recover from their cryopreserved state to their normal state. During this window period, the cells are most responsive to external signals. What does this mean? It means that our previous methods for cell experiments may have always been problematic. We always added drugs after the cells had adhered to the wall, but in fact, the optimal time to add drugs may be when the cells are just seeded."

"You mean the effectiveness of many drugs in cell experiments is underestimated?"

"Yes! Because we added it at the wrong time."

Yang Ping thought about it and agreed with Mainstein. This discovery, though seemingly small, could have a wide-ranging impact. If it proves to be universally applicable, many experiments in cell biology might need to be re-evaluated.

"You could collaborate with Weber to write a review article that systematically addresses this issue, proposes a hypothesis, and then supports it with your experimental data. Such a review would likely be cited by many people."

Mannstein nodded and wrote it down in his notebook.

At 2 p.m., the institute’s weekly meeting started on time.

The conference room was packed as usual. Tang Shun sat to Yang Ping's left, scribbling in a notebook. Lu Xiaolu sat to Yang Ping's right, a laptop spread out in front of him. Mainstein, Weber, Jiang Jitong, and several new research group leaders each occupied a corner of the conference table. Their students and postdoctoral fellows sat in the back rows, some diligently reading materials, others secretly scrolling through their phones.

Yang Ping's gaze swept over everyone, then he cleared his throat.

"Let's begin."

Tang Shun was the first to give a presentation. He stood up, walked to the projection screen, and opened a PowerPoint presentation.

"There are three main points of progress this week. First, we have made a breakthrough in optimizing the culture process of the progenitor cells. We have improved the culture medium formula and culture conditions, and now the yield of each batch is 50% higher than last month, with a purity of 96%. We are one step closer to our goal of 99% purity."

"Secondly, Weber's temperature exposure time experiment has been successfully replicated, and the results are stable and reliable. We are preparing a short communication paper, which we plan to submit to the journal Nature. Weber is the first author, I am the corresponding author, and Professor Yang is a co-author."

Tang Shun glanced at Yang Ping as he finished speaking. Yang Ping nodded in agreement.

"Third, significant progress has been made in Mainstein's research on unknown factors. Mass spectrometry confirmed the existence of the protein, and functional experiments showed that the recombinant protein can significantly promote the differentiation of stem cells into neurons. We are preparing a long paper, aiming for publication in Nature or Cell."

After Tang Shun finished his report, a murmur rippled through the conference room. Having two Nature-level papers in preparation simultaneously was a significant milestone for the institute.

Yang Ping continued, "Everyone should hurry up with the papers, but don't sacrifice quality for the sake of speed. Tang Shun, you should coordinate everything and ensure that every paper can withstand scrutiny."

"Understood." Tang Shun sat down.

The second speaker was Lu Xiaolu. He stood up and, instead of using PowerPoint, directly opened a file on his laptop.

"In the tumor lab, there's been new progress in the application of the three-dimensional guided gene theory in lung cancer. We've designed a new gene-editing strategy that has shown excellent results at the cellular level. However, there's a problem: this strategy also has some off-target effects in normal cells, although very low, but potentially fatal in clinical translation." "What's the off-target rate?" Yang Ping asked.

"About one in a thousand," Lu Xiaolu said.

Yang Ping frowned. A one-in-a-thousand off-target rate is acceptable in basic research, but it's an unacceptable risk when applied to humans. A one-in-a-thousand off-target event, if it happens to occur on a key tumor suppressor gene, could potentially lead to new tumors.

"We will continue to optimize and reduce the off-target rate to less than one in a million," Yang Ping said. "At the same time, we will establish a more sensitive off-target detection method. Just because you can't detect an off-target event doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

“Okay, I’ll arrange it.” Lu Xiaolu wrote it down in his notebook.

The third speaker was Mainstein. He stood up, walked to the projection screen, and opened a PowerPoint presentation filled with data and charts.

"My report consists of three parts. First, the mass spectrometry validation data for the unknown factor has been fully compiled, with a matching rate of 99.7%, which is undisputed. Second, the functional validation data for the recombinant unknown factor has been completed in neuronal differentiation experiments and stem cell co-culture experiments, and the results are all positive. Third, the joint screening of proteomics and metabolomics has identified several candidate molecules that may interact with the unknown factor."

Mannstein explained things in great detail, clarifying every piece of data. His PowerPoint presentation was beautifully designed, with clear charts, harmonious color schemes, and concise text; it was clear that a lot of effort had been put into it.

“Mannstein,” Yang Ping said after he finished speaking, “your PPTs are getting better and better. Did you secretly take some training courses?”

A burst of laughter filled the conference room.

Mannstein scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "I didn't attend classes; I just read a few books on PowerPoint presentations. I think having good data is one thing, but explaining the data clearly is another. If the PowerPoint presentation is poorly made, even the best data will be buried."

Yang Ping said, "That's right, but don't overemphasize form; content is always the most important thing."

Mainstein nodded and sat down.

Next up is Webber. He's in much better spirits today than he was a few days ago, and the dark circles under his eyes have faded, probably because he finally got a good night's sleep last night.

"I will report on two things. First, the complete data of the temperature exposure time experiment, which has been independently replicated four times and the results are stable. I plan to write a short communication, tentatively titled 'Sensitivity of Early Window Period after Cell Seeding to Differentiation Induction,' which will be about two thousand words long and will have only four figures."

"Secondly, in the functional verification experiment of the unknown factor, I used the recombinant protein provided by Mainstein to co-culture stem cells. The results showed that the proportion of neuronal differentiation in the group with added recombinant protein was nearly three times higher than that in the control group, and the effect was comparable to that of the original cell conditioned medium. This shows that Mainstein's hypothesis is correct, and it is indeed this secretory protein that plays a role, rather than the cell itself."

As Weber finished speaking, a round of applause broke out in the conference room.

This is a tradition at the research institute: everyone applauds when someone makes a significant breakthrough. Tang Shun proposed this tradition, and Yang Ping initially thought it was a bit formalistic, but later found it to be quite effective, at least providing everyone with a way to publicly express their approval and encouragement.

A blush crept onto Weber's face, whether from excitement or embarrassment was unclear.

He said, "Thank you everyone, but the experiment isn't finished yet. The results of the recombinant protein expressed in mammalian cells, which is being tested by Mainstein, haven't come out yet. Only when that also comes back positive will this hypothesis truly be valid."

"Rigorousness," Yang Ping said. "Maintaining this rigorous attitude will allow you to go further on your research journey."

Weber sat down, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

The last to give a report was Jiang Jitong. He stood up, holding a printed experimental plan in his hand, and walked to the projection screen.

"My report covers the modifications to the large animal experiment protocol. I added a positive control group, using a commercially available vaccine as a reference. I also increased the number of animals from six to twelve per group to meet the statistical power requirements. The observation timeframe was also adjusted, with the addition of a one-week period."

Jiang Jitong spoke very quickly, as if he were in a hurry, but his points were very clear. Although he was not as fluent as Weber in his expression, the logic and rigor of his content were no less than his.

“I’ve reviewed the plan,” Yang Ping said. “It’s well-written. But there’s one issue: the dosage and administration method of the positive control vaccine you added must be consistent with clinical practice. You can’t just choose any dosage. Check the instructions and follow the highest recommended dosage.”

“I’ve already checked.” Jiang Jitong turned to the last page of the plan. “I’ve copied down all the relevant content from the instruction manual. Please take a look.”

Yang Ping took it and glanced at it. It was indeed copied word for word, even the punctuation marks were not missed.

"Okay, let's go with this plan." Yang Ping handed the plan back to him. "Is the funding sufficient?"

"That's enough, Director Tang has already approved it."

"it is good."

Jiang Jitong sat down, let out a long breath, as if he had accomplished a great task.

The meeting ended close to four o'clock.

Yang Ping returned to his office, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples. These long meetings were more tiring than performing surgery. At least surgery was performed standing up, allowing for intense concentration, which prevented him from feeling sleepy. But sitting in a meeting for over an hour, needing to maintain high concentration, listening to everyone's reports, considering everyone's questions, and offering suggestions—his mind was racing, but his body remained completely still—it was incredibly uncomfortable.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Xiao Su.

"Can you come back earlier today? Da Bao came back from Grandma's house and said he missed you."

Yang Ping checked the time and then looked at his schedule. He had no other plans for the afternoon, so he could leave early.

"Okay, I'll be home by 5:30."

"Then I'll go buy groceries. What do you want to eat?"

"I'll eat whatever you make."

"Okay, I'll see how it goes."

Yang Ping looked at the conversations on his phone screen, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile.

He stood up, packed his things, turned off his computer, and prepared to leave work.