As a mage, I just want to pursue the truth

Chapter 75 Gene Spray
Jiang Yan's number in the magic forum is 2, and he has many questions that he wants to ask Merlin directly on the forum.

Merlin is the manager behind the forum and the discoverer of magic civilization. Jiang Yan hopes to get answers from Merlin.

"Mr. Jiang, what's the situation of the Magic Forum today? We should still have the routine report, and I will report the information back to the headquarters in due course." The staff member asked after entering the office.

"I can only see my number, which has always been 2 and has never changed. I can't see the total number of numbers."

"There is still only Merlin's post on the forum, and no one else has posted anything."

"I still haven't figured out how to post. Today's situation is no different than usual."

"The abilities brought by the magic brain have not changed either. I still have a vague perception of the seeds."

"All capabilities are now in a black box state. They can be used but the principles cannot be explained."

After Jiang Yan gave a brief report, the staff member continued to ask:
"Sir, after reading "Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi" and "Wu Zhen Pian", did your demon brain have any reaction to these contents? Or did you have any insights?"

Both "Zhouyi Cantongqi" and "Wuzhen Pian" are Taoist works on the practice of inner alchemy. The Abnormal Things Investigation Bureau specially found a long-standing handed-down version for Jiang Yan to study.

"I don't have any insights. These contents do not belong to the same system as magic. I think the cultivation methods handed down from ancient times are not the same as the magic brain."

Due to the emergence of magic, the Anomalous Matters Investigation Bureau not only collected various ancient collections in the country, but also sent people abroad to collect magic-related information.

Some artifacts related to ancient magic have been sold at sky-high prices, especially those unearthed in England.

Merlin is a conjecture of the English, and the name Merlin itself refers to a magician in English mythology and legends, so England's magical relics are particularly favored by insiders.

After completing the routine question-and-answer session for the day, Jiang Yan continued to think that he found it very strange and even a little funny.

Merlin said in the post that the magic forum was founded for communication among everyone, claiming that it was to make everyone realize the value of thinking and that it was a platform for communication and value display, but he did not see any communication.

It’s like the group owner said everyone is welcome to speak, and then banned everyone.

Jiang Yan was a little puzzled, because the news he received was that he was not the only one in the world who obtained the magic brain. The Chinese side speculated that there was at least one magic coin in the world after Enceladus was registered.

There are currently two speculations in China. Either the other magic coin has not been used yet, or Jiang Yan can speak on the magic forum but has not found a way yet.

Another guess is that another magic coin was used, and the reason why the magic forum cannot post anything until now is that certain conditions have not been met.

Currently, regarding magic, America and England are very close, while China chooses to share limited information with Russia. There is currently no communication mechanism on this topic.

"Teacher Jiang, we don't actually have to select seeds in this way. The seeds selected in this way are unlikely to achieve the desired effect, and it is impossible to form a sufficient variable control group."

"The seeds cultivated in this way have different mutation points, and it is difficult to draw conclusions through control experiments. We cannot publish papers in this way." After another week of breeding, Dong Wenxu reminded again.

He went on to say: "If you want to cultivate genetically modified seeds on a large scale and feel that the current conventional methods are too inefficient, we can use carbon dot spray for gene editing."

"Carbon dots formed from spherical natural materials with nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm can serve as rapid carriers for carrying plasmids into mature plant cells."

"This could lead to instantaneous plant transformation of species in many important crops, with no negative impact on photosynthesis or growth."

“GFP, Cas9 and gRNA expression gene fragments were introduced into wheat by foliar application (spraying) of plasmid-coated carbon dots, and in the case of Cas9, genome editing was performed in the SPO11 gene.”

"This spray-based gene editing protocol is simple, cheap, fast, and applicable to a wide variety of crops."

"It is also more targeted and convenient for subsequent control experiments."

In the current sub-field of breeding in biology, the more cutting-edge research method is to use directed genetic differentiation to study the differences between hypotheses and actual conditions.

The authors aimed to examine the mutation rates that confer herbicide resistance in natural plant populations and to examine whether the mutation rates are increased when plants are exposed to sublethal herbicides.

The scientists used the cereal amaranth and resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides as a model system for the discovery of spontaneous herbicide-resistant mutants, screening nearly 80 million plants in total.

As for Jiang Yan's research method, not to mention how much it lags behind the most advanced ones, it is the research method of Shennong in ancient times who tasted hundreds of herbs.

Jiang Yan knew he needed to do something to stop Dong Wenxu from thinking too much: "This method was developed by Thomas from Bristol and Keith from the School of Chemistry in 19."

"I'm more familiar with this than you are. The problem with this method is that it cannot guarantee that the gene editing you want will occur as you wish."

"After you spray the rapid vector, you cannot guarantee that the plant has been transformed. In a real experiment, there is a chance of this happening. How do you select seeds that have truly induced differentiation of genes?"

"Don't we still have to go through conventional experiments? This method is not superior to the current mainstream experimental methods. It seems faster, but it's just your feeling."

"This method of screening is more cumbersome than conventional methods."

"If this method is really as good as what Thomas wrote in his article, you would have seen it being promoted on a large scale at the Agricultural Science Institute a long time ago."

“I know you don’t believe I can screen out better seeds based on my feelings, and you think that even if I can screen out better seeds, I can’t publish a paper with a sufficient impact factor without reference experiments.”

Dong Wenxu was dumbfounded. He had only seen this method in articles and had never actually used it, let alone pointed out its disadvantages.

What shocked him even more was that he had indeed read the article and was impressed by it. He brought it out in order to gradually change Jiang Yan's research method, but he did not expect the other party to blurt out the ins and outs of the paper.

Even the author of the paper, the university it belongs to, and when it was published are clearly visible.

Dong Wenxu murmured, "Without a paper, how can we judge whether our work is good or bad? In addition, if this method can really screen out better quality seeds, is breeding science still necessary?"

Thanks to zyi2 and Ironboy3000 for their plans!
Wish all book friends good luck in the Year of the Tiger and a happy New Year (*^_^*)
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(End of this chapter)