Scientific research is also a carnival of chasing hot topics.

This is what Li Zheng felt when he talked with Zhou Yi and Shi Yang during lunch.

Outsiders don't care, but for insiders, especially those in the biosphere, cryo-electron microscopy has been a super hot topic that has been pursued for many years.

With the cryo-electron microscopy technology winning the Nobel Prize three years ago, this hot spot has reached its peak.

In human terms, the biggest feature of this technology is that it can easily and easily obtain three-dimensional holographic images of macromolecular structures, thereby completely "eliminating" structural biology, just like point-and-shoot cameras "eliminate" old-fashioned film photo studios.

In the face of this attractive technology, domestic universities immediately followed up and introduced cryo-electron microscopy. The initial feeling was as sacred as welcoming a "photolithography machine". Whether to have its own cryo-electron microscopy has become a measure of whether a biological research institute has

Top-level core indicators.

In recent years, as the price of cryo-EM has dropped, although this equipment is no longer so sacred, it is still a big money burner.

Its acquisition cost of five million to tens of millions of yuan may not seem that exaggerated, but such a piece of equipment often requires several operation and maintenance personnel, and they are researchers with top academic qualifications who have mastered this technology.

Scientific research is something that may not necessarily have results, but the burning of money pervades every moment of it.

Even Ji University only has two such equipment, one high-end version in the School of Life and one relatively early version of the ordinary version in the School of Chemicals.

Due to the nature of the shortage, reservations must be made before use, and the reservation time is accurate to the hour. If several groups make reservations at the same time, who can use it or not can often only rely on the subjective judgment of the hospital boss.

According to Zhou Yi, it is basically impossible for Li Zheng's group to use the high-end cryo-electron microscope in the School of Chemistry. There is still hope that he can apply for the one in the School of Chemistry in person, but it will not be used for too long, and it will not be used for a long time.

It must be used under the supervision and guidance of operation and maintenance personnel.

Unintentionally, this also led to a dilemma in domestic scientific research.

If you want to achieve results, you need to buy high-end equipment.

Buying high-end equipment requires a lot of money, but the total budget is limited, and more money will be given to units with better past results.

Ordinary units have no money, so they cannot afford equipment and cannot produce results.

If you want to achieve results, you need to buy high-end equipment...

In addition to this cycle, the advantages of studying abroad and researching have indeed been revealed.

In some developed countries, such equipment is neither very expensive nor scarce, and can often be accessed frequently during graduate school.

On the contrary, even at Jida, most graduate students in related fields do not even have the opportunity to take a look at such equipment from a distance.

This layer of logic is like a nesting doll, which is connected to the dilemma of biochemical environmental materials.

It is impossible for top biochemistry graduate students who are skilled in using technologies such as cryo-electron microscopy to find jobs, and major universities are rushing to recruit them.

But most of the remaining ones often have very few opportunities to touch it. They are trapped in low-tech mechanical repetitive experiments all day long. In complicated and tiring subjects, they gradually lose those ideals that change the world.

In the restaurant, when Zhou Yi finished speaking, he inevitably leaned back on his chair and sighed.

"Hey, the situation is much better now. When the equipment was first introduced, several major universities in China were eager to give away houses in order to grab a researcher with experience in using cryo-electron microscopy abroad. Now it's better to give away a household registration..."

"Oh?" Shi Yang's frantic eating hand suddenly stopped. After chewing two quick mouthfuls and swallowing, he asked cheerfully, "Old Zhou, if I hang around for a while, will a bunch of colleges and universities want to poach me?"

"That's about it." Zhou Yi sighed with a smile, "You may think that if I just say a few words, you can just do cryo-electron microscopy, but this feeling is one-sided. In fact, the reason why the project went so well is that I

This support is because you have already proven yourself in your studies and proved that you are one of the top talents of one in ten thousand, one in one hundred thousand, or one in millions. Without this level of understanding, you will not be able to graduate until you graduate.

There may not be such an opportunity.”

"I believe this." Shi Yang said to Li Zheng, "Boss Zhou is really interesting. He has always been. As long as I perform well, Boss Zhou is willing to give me any resources."

Li Zheng immediately raised his teacup: "Yes, I don't know how to thank Teacher Zhou anymore. Try your best to let your results speak for themselves."

"Just do your best." Zhou Yi raised his glass and said with a smile, "Although this topic is very interesting, I actually don't have much expectations. Don't be stressed. Exercise is the main thing. It will be good if you can produce a readable experimental report. Don't worry if you fail.

Take it to your heart, I only ask for one thing - don’t damage the machine!"

"Speaking of machines..." Li Zheng slowly put down the cup after taking a sip of tea, frowning slightly, "Is it so expensive?"

Zhou Yi spread his hands and said: "There is no way, there is no domestic one yet, and it is unlikely to be available within five years. Most high-end instruments are in this situation."

"What are the technical difficulties?" Li Zheng asked subconsciously.

"This is not my major anymore. Teachers from the School of Physics and Engineering should know something about it." Zhou Yi shook his fingers and counted them down, "Have done one thing well before thinking about the next one. Don't do this with me.

, these matters regarding the manufacturing of sophisticated instruments will not work even if Leonardo da Vinci comes here, just give me a good start on the experiment and don’t mess around with your thoughts."

"Yes, just out of curiosity." Li Zheng laughed.

If he hadn't been identified as a user-impaired person by the Xuemo system, he might have opened the engineering interface to do some research.

…

On the other hand, teacher Zhou Xiao, who was very interested in Li Zheng's group's project during the information session, also went directly to the School of Health and Science and found an old classmate who used to be the class teacher.

It was also a simple meal in the cafeteria. After Zhou Xiao explained the situation, the old classmate put down his chopsticks and explained everything to Zhou Xiao.

"Zhou'er, what's going on with you is like this..."

"If you want to push it forward, it's not a matter of process."

"There must be a heavyweight to stand up."

"Either you, Dean Niu Gang, go directly to our dean."

"Either we can convince Professor Bing of our college to do it with all her might."

"Scientific research is like this. In the end, it is a battle for resources between a few big bosses."

"Cryo-electron microscopy is the most scarce resource in our hospital."

"Zhang Shandong's judgment is correct. There is nothing wrong with him. Let's not get involved in this matter."

"Especially if a few undergraduates are messing around and cause some accidents or damage equipment or something, they will be punished. It's not the students who need to be punished, it's us."

"Listen to me and don't worry about it. It's useless."

When Zhou Xiao heard the last thing, the food tasted no longer tasted, so he simply put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"I just think...this subject is really worth pursuing."

"And Li Zheng's level cannot be measured by the level of ordinary people."

"To say the least, he can touch tens of billions of Yellow River No. 2, but he can't touch tens of millions of electron microscopes?"

"At this point, the recommendation letter from the old aerospace company is very telling."

"How much is a letter of recommendation worth?" the old classmate laughed, "What's going on, someone from their aerospace system will be held responsible if something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will happen to Li Zheng's level."

"You dare to guarantee it?"

"I dare."

"Okay, okay, even if you dare, and the leader believes it and gives you a chance to take responsibility, what if nothing happens?" The old classmate clapped his hands together, "Not counting the purchase price, you know what a cryo-electron microscope like this is?

What are the maintenance costs?”

"How many?"

"I don't know either, but I just look at the operation and maintenance lineup and the supplies that go in and out. It costs at least tens of thousands a day. Li Zheng and the others just took up resources. Not to mention how much money was wasted and delayed other projects.

How do you calculate time? Who doesn’t race against time? Who doesn’t have a big boss standing behind them?”

"..."

"Be more mature, Zhou'er." The old classmate patted Zhou Xiao and said, "I know that you really recognized the concept when you went to Yingpei to teach, and really wanted to make something famous, but we can't risk our lives like moths fly.

Fire is not."

"Why are you risking your life? How can you be so evil?" Zhou Xiaoqiang smiled and pushed away his old classmate, "It is my duty to serve the students. I didn't want to cause any big trouble by myself. I just felt that Zhang Shandong should at least report the situation to Niu

Dean, we are not qualified to judge a subject of this level and should leave it to the dean."

"Ha." The old classmate waved his hand and smiled, "I don't know how Dean Niu will react. Anyway, if you do this, Zhang Shandong will hate you to death, and maybe Dean Niu already knows about it, but

Deliberately pretending not to know."

"Why do you deliberately pretend not to know?" Zhou Xiao asked incomprehensibly, "Our Dean Niu is not that kind of person!"

"Alas..." The old classmate shook his head and stood up, "Aren't you too young? You just lack strength..."

Zhou Xiao stood up and said, "No... we are teachers, are you making things complicated?"

"Things are very simple, talents are complex, and where there are people there will naturally be complex. This has nothing to do with identity or work." The old classmate picked up the dinner plate and nodded and smiled, "But you have always had such a heartless character, it's up to you.

Well, this is just my experience and may not be correct."

The old classmates left, and Zhou Xiao stood in the bustling cafeteria, his thoughts becoming a mess like the leftovers.

His original intention was to understand the situation and then report to Dean Niu.

But now, he was starting to become unsure.

In confusion, the phone rang.

"Hello……"

"Yes, where is the canteen, Director Zhang."

"On business trip?"

"Oh... ok, no problem."

"Okay, I'll go find him right away..."

Putting down the phone, Zhou Xiao sighed, and after revising his words repeatedly for a long time, he sent a text message.

[Li Zheng, I am Zhou Xiao, Zhou Xiao at the inquiry meeting. 】

[I asked the School of Biology, but it was difficult to obtain equipment conditions.]

[I also recommend that you start some projects that require relatively low resource requirements. 】

[If you must persist, I’m afraid you can only use your personal resources.]

[I will be on a business trip for two months recently. Whether you want to persist or come up with new questions, you can come to me for any questions.]

After sending the message, before he could even put away his phone, Li Zheng replied within seconds.

[Thank you, Teacher Zhou, you are doing the right thing, I have my own method, you don’t have to regret it. 】

【You must be a good teacher.】

【Li Zheng.】

Seeing this reply, Zhou Xiao finally managed a smile.

It was probably because of this sentence that I stayed in school.

…

Zhou Yi not only looks like a prosperous boy, but he also acts very prosperously. He decided on the experiment in just three days.

Starting from September 8th, for one week, from 7 to 11 o'clock every night, you have 4 hours of usage rights, plus some consumables.

There is only 2 hours a week, which is undoubtedly far from the 45 days he initially judged, but according to his intention, as long as the experiment goes well and there is even a small possibility of producing results, he can continue to apply.

Li Zheng was of course grateful and used all possible means to prepare for the experiment.

The scientific marginal team then entered the preparation stage.

It feels like a group of people who want to drive a racing car, but can't afford it, and only have one chance to test drive one to prove to Ferrari that they can do it.

Therefore, before the test drive, they tried their best to simulate driving in every possible way.

Just like memorizing every turn on the track, memorize every experimental link.

Just like learning from the experiences of excellent drivers, read through every experimental paper and extremely limited video at home and abroad.

In the end, even Lin Moming shouted out——

"No one knows cryo-EM better than me!"

The reason why I really shouted out was mainly to vent.

For the past few days, she had been forced to translate documents by Li Zheng in the underground discussion room, and she had already vomited while translating!

The main reason is that Mo Nian's English level is too poor. Because of the recommendation, his English is still at the junior high school level.

In this cutting-edge field, as the main experimental force, it is impossible to be competent without reading English materials.

Why?

Because even the top domestic papers are only available in English.

In this endless translation work, even Lin Moming completely understood this thing.

This can be considered science learning in disguise. Xiaolin’s growth in academic ability can be seen with the naked eye.

As for the leader, he has also been developed with more magical functions.

That is the assembly simulation test bench.

Based on these legends of cryo-electron microscopy, he searched for materials everywhere and built a set of similar simulation equipment in the basement. He even obtained liquid nitrogen.

After much hard work, I finally waited for September 8th.

As the sky gets darker, members of the Science Margin wake up one by one.

There is no other way, I only have these 4 hours at night.

Only if you get enough sleep during the day can you fully exert yourself in this limited time.

18:40, at the entrance of Huayuan.

A lonely fat house has been waiting for a long time.

Shi Yang was waiting here, wanting to show off.

But when he saw Lin Moming, his whole body felt bad.

"Whose belongs to this? No matter what, you can't bring your children here!"

Lin Moming glared at her with hostility and said the mantra she used to vent her words during this period: "No one knows cryo-electron microscopy better than me!"

After some explanation, Shi Yang quickly returned to his original state.

He just didn't dare to speak, his face was as red as Wangwang, and he kept peeking at her.

I got nervous and went to the toilet.

Fortunately, I rushed back to the cryo-EM laboratory in time at 18:58.

Here, a group of six people are ready to go.

Although my heart was beating wildly, it was still within control.

Even if they have never seen the real thing, no one knows cryo-EM better than them.

This simple little experiment has been practiced silently for hundreds of hours.

Especially Mo Nian.

He was doing experiments when he was dreaming, and he was also dreaming when he was awake.

The practice of the power of meditation has found such a breakthrough for the first time.

Seeing everyone like this, Li Zheng finally glared.
Chapter completed!