A member of China's Super Brainwave Epidemic Expert Group, senior virologist Professor Wang Hongtao, isolated a strain of virus from the cerebrospinal fluid of a critically ill patient. This discovery needed immediate verification within the expert group. If confirmed, it could be a breakthrough in the treatment of Super Brainwave. Chen Chen is the leader of this expert group.
"Is it confirmed to be a virus?" Sitting in the car, Chen Chen frowned as he questioned his assistant Jiang Fei who had come to pick him up from the airport.
"It should be correct. Professor Wang and the others are very excited," Jiang Fei replied, a broad smile on his face as he handed a stack of case files to Chen Chen. "Is there a problem, Professor Chen?"
Finding a virus should be exhilarating since it meant they had found the causative agent of Super Brainwave. But what worried Chen Chen was that previous antigen tests on the cerebrospinal fluid of Super Brainwave patients had always been negative. Could this one positive result be a fluke? Or had the virus mutated?
Chen Chen didn't answer; he perused the patient's medical records. Until he had seen the virus for himself, he couldn't answer any questions. Words from Mo Sijie yesterday made him believe that things might not be so simple.
Closing the case file, he changed the subject: "Did you bring the data from the MTX mouse water maze experiment?"
Jiang Fei swiftly pulled a stack of papers from his backpack and handed it to Chen Chen. This was something he had specifically asked for before boarding his flight.
During his Ph.D. at Stanford, Chen Chen made groundbreaking discoveries regarding the relationship between magnesium ions and brain memory functions. His paper, published in the journal 'Neurons', had caused quite a stir in the neuroscience community. It suggested that supplementing magnesium ions could remarkably improve brain memory and perhaps offer a new approach to preventing and treating brain aging diseases. With the help of Xia Nan, a prodigy in the field of chemistry, they had screened over 10,000 compounds and selected MTX to enhance memory.
The experiment results were promising; MTX indeed had an astonishing effect on memory. Now, the bigger challenge for Chen Chen was how to get the compound past the blood-brain barrier.
The blood-brain barrier is a natural protection mechanism that limits the passage of substances between blood and brain tissue, protecting the central nervous system. But it also makes it difficult for many medications to reach the brain, rendering some diseases untreatable.
Chen Chen took a deep breath. The blood-brain barrier, which obstructed his research, seemed useless against the pathogen inducing Brainwave. Brainwave occurs when pathogens cross the blood-brain barrier, causing inflammation in the meninges and damaging the normal functioning of the central nervous system.
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The research center for China's Super Brainwave Epidemic was located in a hospital affiliated with Southern University, as per Chen Chen's request. It was essential to closely collaborate with frontline clinicians to understand patient responses and medications.
Chen Chen pushed open the door to the eighth-floor conference room. Nine members of the expert group were sitting around a long conference table. Projected on the screen was an image of a light pink, spherical virus with crown-like spikes. Chen Chen was immediately drawn to the image.
"A coronavirus?" Chen Chen blurted out without any pleasantries.
"We are currently calling it the 'Super R-virus'," Professor Wang Hongtao chuckled. He was the one who discovered this virus and an authoritative expert in virology in China. "It's an atypical coronavirus."
"How did you discover it? Did the cerebrospinal fluid test positive for antigens?" Chen Chen inquired, his tone devoid of any diplomatic niceties. This wasn't arrogance, but rather his consistent rigorous approach to science.
"Professor Chen, are you doubting my results?" Professor Wang's smile froze on his face. "I have 100% confidence in my field. The cerebrospinal fluid test is positive. The virus has a strong affinity for the nervous system. We think the virus is mutating, which is why we discovered it. We can infer that this is the causative agent of Super Brainwave ."
"Antiviral drugs against coronaviruses have been tried in clinical treatments, and they were completely ineffective. If it's truly a coronavirus, it should be sensitive to drugs. Could there be a procedural error affecting the detection results? I want to re-extract cerebrospinal fluid from the patient and isolate the virus again."
"Unfortunately, the patient passed away an hour ago."
"Have similar viruses been isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of other patients in the same group?"
"Professor Chen, the immediate priority now is to find a treatment drug and develop a vaccine based on the discovered pathogen."
"Professor Wang, based on this patient's medical history, I believe their symptoms are all atypical. There could be a misdiagnosis. He may not be a patient with 'Super Brainwave .'"
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"Professor Chen, you've returned with honors, promoting Nofi Pharmaceuticals and the miraculous effects of Antamins in treating Super Brainwave, yet here you are obstructing our nation's scientific discovery. I suspect your allegiance lies with Nofi. You are no longer suitable to lead the Super Brainwave expert group!" Professor Wang Hongtao glances disdainfully at Chen Chen, creating a subtle tension. "I've heard that Nofi Pharmaceuticals' founder Ulysses privately sponsors your lab at Southern University."
Chen Chen was at a loss for words. He wanted to object, to say something, but he didn't even know what to say. A scientific discussion had escalated to personal attacks—the greatest insult to a scientist is not academic mediocrity, but harboring ulterior motives against the nation. If Professor Wang's words were publicized in the media, embellished with sensationalism, Chen Chen would be labeled a scientific spy.
In fact, ever since Chen Chen was appointed as the leader of the Super Brainwave expert group, there had always been different voices within the team. Too young! There were many in the group with more experience, significant contributions to epidemiological research, and more importantly, Super Brainwave was an epidemiological issue. Chen Chen might be authoritative in neuroscience, but in epidemiology, he was still inexperienced. In this system where both qualifications and capability were important, the role of the team leader often made Chen Chen feel uncomfortable.
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The meeting ended on an unhappy note. Leaving Southern University Hospital, Chen Chen decided to visit Anhe Sanatorium. His conversation with Mo Sijie was interrupted when his father Chen Tianbai's name came up. Professor Albert's death, Super Brainwave —could his father help in any way?
His father, Professor Albert, and Ulysses were once the "Three Musketeers" of Stanford Neuroscience. Professor Albert once told Chen Chen that his father was far more talented than him in the field of neuroscience. However, no one had anticipated that Chen Tianbai would suffer from mental instability 20 years ago.
Chen Chen couldn't believe that his father's mental state would unravel due to a failed experiment. When he was young, his father told him that "science starts with failure."
Something must have happened 20 years ago, but now his father was not capable of communicating normally. By the time Chen Chen arrived at the ward, a "riot" had just been controlled. The nurse told him that his father's emotional state had been unstable recently, indicating a worsening condition.
His father, bound in white straps, was still struggling. Despite good care from the nurses, his haggard appearance couldn't be hidden. After continued raspy shouting, his voice gradually weakened—the sedative began to take effect.
Chen Chen suspected that his father was agitated by the news of Professor Albert's death. The murder of authoritative neuroscientist Professor Albert in his lab had hit the headlines. His father and Professor Albert had been best friends; before Albert's isolation, he would fly to China every year to visit him.
Chen Chen didn't want to go home. With wide-open eyes, he lay on the sofa in the hospital room. A sliver of moonlight slipped through the curtain gap, illuminating his father's gaunt face. There was an indescribable emotion in Chen Chen's heart towards his father. The intense love had imposed immense pressure on him.
When he was young, he found his father to be the most terrifying person in the world, forcing him to study neuroscience, which was incomprehensible to a six- or seven-year-old. He disliked it but didn't dare to resist. Even now, the feeling remained deeply rooted, his life firmly controlled by his father.
After his father's incident, doctors were clueless about his condition. One regretfully told him that they had hoped for a breakthrough from Professor Chen on neuronal communication for this kind of disease. Back then, not only had his father mapped out the "god-level connections" in the human brain, but he had also discovered the principle behind neural impulses in his experiments, representing significant advances in researching brain diseases.
Even now, when Chen Chen reads his father's academic papers, he still senses his father's extraordinary talent in neuroscience. Being referred to as the "Einstein of neuroscience" was not an exaggeration for Chen Tianbai. Chen Chen's own achievements, like receiving the Nofi award, merely stood on his father's shoulders.
For Chen Chen, his research on neuronal communication and control was not only a continuation of his father's scientific career but also a means to find a treatment for him. Perhaps there were hidden secrets behind his father's sudden mental disorder. Chen Chen vaguely recalled the lean man's words from the night before last.
Just then, the door to the hospital room cracked open, and a shadow slipped in. Startled, Chen Chen leapt up from the sofa.
"It's me!" The other man switched on the overhead light. "Don't worry, Professor Chen."
Automatically, Chen Chen glanced at his father lying on the bed. He had been sedated and wouldn't wake up for a while.
"How did you find this place?" The sudden appearance of Mo Sijie stunned Chen Chen for a moment. "Aren't you still under quarantine?"
"Since Professor Chen has people to save him due to his status in neuroscience, I had to rely on my own little tricks to escape. I told Captain O'Rourke that if he could get me to China, I would teach him the best flight techniques when we get back to the United States. The guy actually pulled it off," Mo Sijie joked. "Been waiting for you for half a day!"
"Waiting for me?" Chen Chen looked puzzled.
"Professor Chen, you've forgotten? We agreed yesterday to ask your father to recall something from 21 years ago!"
"He's not in a condition to talk right now."
"No worries, I've come prepared." Mo Sijie took an apparatus out of his ever-present black backpack.
"A memory extractor?" Chen Chen was astonished.
"I asked Professor Albert for one," Mo Sijie began fiddling with the device and started to frown. "But it seems he didn't teach me how to use it!"
"Don't bother, the memory extracted by this device can only be read by the memory's owner," Chen Chen looked suspiciously at the lean man before him. "Did Professor Albert really give this to you?"
"Professor Chen, you're quite persistent," Mo Sijie gently touched the memory extractor. "Truth be told, I took this from his lab after discovering he was dead. I thought it would come in handy someday."
Ever since he heard what this man, who appeared out of nowhere, had said yesterday, he had been skeptical. Taking advantage of work breaks, he searched for "San Francisco Paranormal Incident" online but found almost no information. Did it really exist? Or had Mo Sijie killed Professor Albert to get the memory extractor, only to find out he couldn't use it? Had he made up stories to get close and find out how to use the device?
"Come find me at Yi Jia Hospital at 9 pm tomorrow night."