episode_0016

Episode 16. Academia’s Lunch (1)

****

The presentation itself was over quickly. There was no PPT, and even if I made it long, people wouldn’t listen. After all, professors are people too.

“Do you have any questions?”

The reaction was explosive.

People raised their hands and looked at me. Some looked as if they were trying to refute me, some looked as if they were dumbfounded, and some looked as if they were amazed.

Anyway, she was looking at us. I looked at Istina for a moment between questions. What did I say, Istina?

“Yes. Particulate matter, that is, germs, are everywhere you can imagine, so I think you should wash your hands not only before surgery, but before seeing a patient.”

I turned my head towards the other questioner.

“The evidence that the dyed particles are living entities is as follows: they respond to stimuli such as temperature, eat nutrients, grow, and increase in number over time.”

The answer was simple.

“How did you see that?”

“It appears around the second page of the paper. It is an observation of microbial communities using culture media. The community is a visible object.”

Next person.

“Microscopes are not magical tools. They utilize lens refraction, and I don’t know if there’s any magic involved in their creation.”

It’s like a new world has opened up. For a while, the academic world will be busy observing various microorganisms and recording their characteristics.

“How can you believe that this is true? There could be manipulation or lies, right?”

“There may be some parts we missed. This is a relatively easy study to reproduce, so please try to reproduce it when you have time.”

The auditorium was buzzing with energy like never before.

“Disease is caused by bad air, and the resultant disease is the stench of decay or wounds. I admit that they found particulate matter, but it is hard to accept that it is the cause of decay or disease.”

Yeah. It’s a reasonable question to have.

There is still little evidence on that front.

To this extent, we cannot completely prove that the bacteria we have discovered are not at the site of the disease, but rather the cause of it.

Because in this world, the mechanisms by which bacteria reproduce or spread, or the mechanisms by which they cause disease, are not well known.

Let’s take this gently.

“I don’t think they are completely mutually exclusive hypotheses. Considering the size of the particles, it is more likely that they will move through the air under certain conditions. Bad air may not be completely wrong.”

Simply put, the question is what specifically is in that bad air.

“Do you have any more questions?”

One of the healers sitting in the front raised her hand. Imperial Healer Violet. It looks like the poker table in the palace infirmary was quiet today.

“Yes.”

“Amazing claims require amazing evidence. Professor Asterix, you know that today’s claim contains many things that go against the majority opinion of the academic community, right?”

“Of course I know.”

“The practice of not having to wash your hands before surgery, the common sense that the carrier of disease is not particles or insects but polluted air of irregular shape. The common sense that the basic unit of the human body is a sphere.”

Why are you playing poker in the infirmary? Why did you come all the way to the conference to do this?

“It’s hard to believe that you don’t need to wash your hands before surgery. It’s better if you wash them.”

“Yes.”

“It is only half true that the disease is transmitted by smell. Smell is something that can be confirmed by the senses. Isn’t it true that the epidemic spreads only when it is present?”

Violet nodded.

“The human body’s constituent units can also be observed through a microscope. You can see this for yourself without any room for refutation or discussion.”

“Then. Show me.”

Dozens of eyes turned to Violet, then back to me. That’s why you asked me this question, Violet.

I can show you, but it’s too much trouble to bring the microscope here.

I looked at Istina.

“Istina. Can you bring me the microscope?”

“Oh, it’s possible. It just takes some time.”

This is an auditorium inside the academy. It wouldn’t be impossible to go to the lab and get the microscope. It would take a few minutes, though.

“Then… … . Go and come back.”

“Okay.”

Istina ran out of the auditorium. The people gathered in the auditorium looked at me.

“Oh, Miss Istina will be back in a few minutes. She will have the microscope and the specimen.”

The auditorium suddenly became quiet. Was it anticipation, or people taking advantage of the intermission to sleep, or was it just a brief waning of curiosity?

“Oh, I have some free time. Did you all have a delicious lunch?”

There was no response to the joke.

****

Violet was looking at me.

Istina came back about ten minutes later with the microscope. She was worried that she might drop it, so she wrapped it in some kind of blanket.

So the microscope went up on the table on the stage. I adjusted the focus of the microscope. Well, I think I can see something like this.

“Okay, everyone, line up.”

There are three samples brought by Istina.

I pulled up a chair in front of the microscope, with a stained Staphylococcus aureus colony that I had prepared earlier, a sample of human oral epithelial cells, and a water bear I had caught from the pond.

“Can you see it?”

“Oh, that. Does it look real?”

“Focus.”

Violet frowned.

“Oh.”

“As I said before. The existence of cells and particles is an experimentally proven fact without any room for refutation. Can’t you see it?”

The line was getting longer and longer. Everyone seemed to be wondering if they could really see cells and bacteria. Violet nodded.

“That’s true.”

“Yes.”

Again, the line of people in front of the microscope began to murmur. I looked over the gathered people.

“What can I really see?”

“Here, how is the sample preparation process?”

“Can we try the same experiment on our side?”

If I tell you not to do something, you won’t do it? Academia isn’t that kind of place. It’s a jungle where the strong prey on the weak.

“Isn’t that science? I’ll help you as much as I can, so if you have any questions, please write to me. Try everything you can.”

Istina nodded next to me. The crowd continued to murmur. The line to see the microscope continued to grow longer.

A long time passed like that.

The conference host looked obviously flustered. In fact, it was understandable that he would be flustered. The conference host was also standing in line to look at the microscope.

In the end, I can’t overcome my curiosity.

“Oh, sorry. I’m a bit late because of Professor Asterix’s presentation. But there are still two days left until the conference, so I’ll postpone a few. Sorry.”

In the process of looking at the microscope and asking questions, the schedule went over an hour later than scheduled. It was understandable.

“I have nothing to say. I was looking at the microscope too. I’m sorry, but I would like the next people to give their presentations a little more quickly.”

The people gathered in the auditorium were in an uproar.

Several of the presenters booed the moderator.

There is a famous anecdote about the discovery of the structure of DNA. Dr. Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of the structure of DNA after Dr. Franklin’s death.

Why am I mentioning Dr. Franklin?

Dr. Franklin’s research, the famous X-ray crystal photograph, ‘Photograph 51’, was released to rival researchers before it was published. Without Dr. Franklin’s knowledge. Those rival researchers are the three Nobel Prize winners mentioned above.

Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were inspired by the photograph to discover the structure of DNA. Dr. Franklin died of ovarian cancer.

The fellow researchers who wrote the paper with Dr. Franklin also did not receive the Nobel Prize.

anyway,

What I’m trying to say is that these people wouldn’t even blink an eye at stealing other people’s research, even the research of the deceased. I don’t intend to be picky about research I’ve seen in textbooks either.

Above all else.

Medical-related papers should be published as soon as possible to save lives. It would be fortunate if there were researchers who could do their research faster than me.

“You talked too much.”

“You must be tired.”

“You too. Did you bring your microscope?”

“Taken.”

That’s fortunate.

“Still, I’m glad that the conference ended successfully. I was worried that the professor’s research would be buried or he would get a lot of criticism.”

“I only wrote what’s right. If they don’t accept it, it’s their loss.”

“Oh, yes.”

Still, it was better than having my research ruined at the conference. There were many people interested in research. There were even quite a few people who wanted to make microscopes.

****

Professor Klaus was flipping through the academic journal. There was a paper there with Professor Asterix as the lead author.

I hope the presentation went well.

I expected it to go well. Putting aside the level of evidence and such, isn’t this completely new content? At the very least, there would have been a lot of people who would have been looking to refute it.