Chapter 385 - 254: Triumphant Return

Chapter 385: Chapter 254: Triumphant Return

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

It’s recognized worldwide as the number one hospital for cancer treatment.

Pancreatic cancer, naturally, was classified as a top-priority target for research.

Houston. The early morning hours. The core lab for gastrointestinal medical oncology.

The lab director, world-renowned oncologist Professor Cole, repeatedly read the Reuters press release in front of him.

After a long moment, he shook his head and said, "Impossible. Early screening using peripheral blood miRNA? Hopkins can’t do it, we can’t do it, so a team from China *definitely* can’t do it."

His assistant handed him a fax. "Professor Cole, this is part of the extraction process Jiang He disclosed at the press conference. He introduced a double chloroform extraction method combined with specific stem-loop primers. The baseline data is very complete."

Cole’s brow furrowed. "Double chloroform? That would cause a massive loss of the already scarce miRNA in the sample. He’s lying."

"But they presented 50 validation results from Charite Medical School. Should we try to replicate it?"

Silence.

Though a hundred parts of him refused to believe it, Professor Cole still dutifully opted to run a replication experiment...

They retrieved compliant serum samples from cold storage and strictly followed the procedure Jiang He had disclosed.

Add lysis buffer.

Add chloroform.

Vortex vigorously.

Place in an ice bath. Start a five-minute timer.

Five minutes later, the sample was moved to the centrifuge.

Speed: fourteen thousand RPM. Temperature: set to 4 degrees Celsius.

Centrifugation complete.

Cole himself picked up the pipette, carefully aspirating the upper aqueous phase before adding a co-precipitant.

Finally, he dispensed a drop of the extracted sample onto the NanoDrop spectrophotometer.

Cole pressed the "measure" button.

The measurement only took a few seconds, but in that brief time, Cole’s mind raced.

’As a researcher, of course I want to see a breakthrough in medicine.’

’But deep down, I’m unwilling to admit that a team from China is really this far ahead of me...’

It was like the old saying: You feel bad when your buddy is down on his luck, but you feel even worse when he suddenly buys a Porsche.

And in this case, the team from China hadn’t just bought a Porsche—they’d launched an entire aircraft carrier...

A few seconds later.

The data popped up on the screen.

A260/280 ratio: 1.98.

A260/230 ratio: 2.05.

Following that, they immediately proceeded with RT-qPCR amplification.

When the amplification curve appeared,

Cole fell silent.

The lab technicians behind him fell silent, too.

Finally, Cole peeled off his gloves and tossed them into the medical waste bin.

For a split second, he wanted to throw himself in there too.

’Trash belongs in the trash can, after all...’

The other lab technicians were filled with an indescribably complex mix of emotions.

Just then, some clueless guy spoke up in amazement:

"Wow, it actually worked! Guys, how come none of us ever thought of using this method?"

Everyone turned to stare at him.

In that moment, everyone was on the exact same wavelength. The same thought appeared in all their minds:

’Should we just... kill him?’

The clueless guy: "?"

’Why did I suddenly feel a chill run down my spine? Weird.’

None of the lab technicians could bear to stay any longer. After saying their goodbyes to Cole, they all quickly left.

Cole remained seated, composing himself for a long time.

Only then did he make a personal call to the dean of the Anderson Cancer Center.

The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.

"Cole, it’s the middle of the night."

"Dean, my apologies for the disturbance. I need to report something. The Reuters story is true. We just replicated the extraction process from the team in China. The result... was perfect."

"Are you sure?"

"I ran the test myself. They haven’t just achieved early screening; they’ve also solved the low-abundance sample purification problem that has plagued us for years. Dean, this researcher, Jiang He... he’s ahead of all of us."

Cole’s words were met with silence from the dean.

After a long pause, he said, "Immediately form a dedicated task force. We need to conduct a comprehensive study of all the data Jiang He has made public."

"Understood."

"Also, mobilize all our contacts in China. Make Jiang He an offer with our absolute best terms. See if there’s any possibility of him coming to Anderson."

"China would never allow it."

"Of course. That’s why I’m telling you to find a way, understand? As it stands now, in the field of pancreatic cancer, whoever has Jiang He has the final say in the future. Get to it."

...

Charite Medical School, Berlin (Charité), Germany.

As the largest medical institution in Europe, Charite Medical School played a crucial role in this event.

’*We* provided 50 extremely valuable, ultra-early-stage serum samples from Germany, you know!’

’So we get to claim some of the credit for this achievement!’

At 8:00 a.m., the conference room was packed to capacity.

Professor Weber, who had rushed back overnight, sat at the left side of the long table, looking absolutely radiant.

Seated around him were the department heads and senior leadership from all across Charite Medical School.

The projector on the wall was repeatedly playing a recording of Jiang He’s press conference at Baltimore Turner Hall.

When a data chart bearing the Charite Medical School logo appeared on screen, a round of applause erupted in the conference room.

"Well done, Weber."

The dean of the Medical School stood by the projector, a smile on his face. "Because of your decision, Charite Medical School has left its mark on this era-defining medical breakthrough."

Weber nodded, his tone calm. "Jiang He’s technology can withstand any scrutiny. Us providing the samples was a win-win."

"It’s more than a win-win, it’s a victory! Gentlemen, right now the entire European Medical Community is calling us, asking for details about those 50 samples. Professor Weber, you’re the most sought-after man in European medicine right now."

Weber took a sip of coffee and said leisurely, "Dean, Jiang He also announced his next step at the conference. He’s going to develop a KRAS-targeted drug. That’s no easy feat."