episode_0058

Episode 58. Soldiers in the Blood (3)

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The paper on white blood cells will be published as soon as possible, along with the paper on scurvy.

But, no matter how quickly you write a paper, there is a review process and procedures involved.

The best way is to present in a class or academic setting. It goes without saying.

I cleared my throat briefly in front of the podium.

“Before we begin the lecture. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know what centripetal force is?”

Starting with Hedwig, it seemed like everyone who had attended the conference I was attending yesterday was attending the class. Well… … .

That could be the case.

I thought that would be the case.

“Centripetal force is the force that acts outward when an object rotates.”

All I got was a look that said, “What nonsense is that?” Do you really not know what centripetal force is? I scratched my head and drew a circle on the board again. Let’s start with centripetal force.

“Look. If an object is rotating, it will spin like this. Since the object is tied to a string and spinning, it is natural that when you let go of the string, it will fly along the tangent of the circle.”

Those listening to the lecture still seemed to have doubts. Violet, who was sitting in the front row, raised her hand.

“Yes, Ms. Violet.”

“Did you change jobs to become a math professor?”

I shook my head.

“No, look. When an object rotates, it experiences an outward force. In a typical 10-centimeter rotor, at 1,000 to 2,000 RPM, the force on the object reaches 300 times the force of gravity.”

Violet raised her hand again.

“Are you changing your job to a professor of magic?”

Are you trying to make me laugh?

I put my palm on my forehead.

“No, listen to me. If you expose blood to 300 times the force of gravity for a few minutes, the blood will settle and separate into layers.”

The classroom was bustling again today.

“Professor, I don’t understand what you’re saying at all. We’ve never learned magic.”

Those were Oliver’s words.

The classroom was largely in agreement with what Oliver had to say. Most people responded by asking why he was talking nonsense when he came to a medical lecture.

“Rotational motion is the process in which an object cannot move freely and revolves around a point. The object rotates when it is held back to restrict its trajectory, and the repulsive force against the holding force is called centripetal force.”

“So?”

“We used this principle to create a device called a centrifuge. It can separate solutions by density by applying centripetal force.”

I looked around the classroom. Amy was dozing off, Oliver was frowning, and other graduate students and professors were reacting similarly.

I’m so frustrated.

Let’s move on. It’s not the centripetal force that’s important.

“Haa… … . I separated the blood into its components in some way. Okay? ”

Everyone nodded at these words.

“Anyway, this is what I’m going to show you today. I separated it just before class. Can you see the yellow liquid that makes up the plasma and the red liquid that makes up the red blood cells are separated into layers?”

Again Oliver raised his hand.

“What does that have to do with 300x gravity?”

“No, they applied 300 times the gravity to the vial to separate the blood into its components.”

“So you separated the blood by applying a 300x gravity magic to the vial?”

That bastard. Talking nonsense…

Okay, let’s say that’s true.

“Let’s say that.”

“How did you do 300 times the gravity?”

“There is such a device.”

I sighed.

Let’s not explain this. If I just write it out roughly in the paper, you can either understand it or not.

Anyway, it’s not like there’s no way to make a 1000-rpm rotor. If we exaggerate a bit, it could be possible with human power.

“Please let’s move on. Anyway, I said that blood is made up of cells, right? There are some special things about blood cells.”

Of all the blood cells, the most numerous, and the one these people have seen so far, is of course red blood cells.

Red blood cells are cells without a nucleus. They are simple structures, compared to the white blood cells that fight in battle.

“I call these white blood cells. They are white under a microscope and lighter than red blood cells, so when centrifuged, they form a layer on top of the red blood cells. If you put this under a microscope… … .”

The dropper went into the vial and a white drop fell onto the slide.

“You can observe the movement under a microscope. The important thing is this. What role do the cells in the white blood play? What role do you think they play?”

Of course, no one answered. I erased the centripetal force diagram on the board and drew a regular neutral sphere shape.

In the form of jellyfish or slime.

“I’ve said it many times, structure and function. Most white blood cells look like this. What functions can we infer from the structure of white blood cells?”

I pointed to Amy.

“Amy! Answer me.”

“Oh, it looks like slime.”

“Right. What does slime do?”

Amy thought for a while and then opened her mouth.

“Slime? Oh, it changes shape freely and eats other things… … ?”

I tapped on the white blood cell diagram drawn on the board. Amy racked her brain.

They change shape freely and eat other things, and this is the same for white blood cells.

“White blood cells also eat things- Ah! Are you saying that white blood cells eat bacteria in a similar way to slime?”

“Well done, Miss Amy.”

I think I’ve figured it out.

I said exactly what I was going to say.

“White blood cells eat bacteria. It must have something to do with the specific mechanism by which bacteria cause disease and the human body responds to bacteria, right?”

Now one of the professors is going to ask if you have any evidence. Three, two, one… … .

“Is there any basis for this?”

It’s obvious what they’re doing even without looking.

“Base? If you’re lucky, you’ll see white blood cells eating bacteria or other foreign substances. The ones we put in this microscope are still living white blood cells.”

It is evidence that can be confirmed with the eyes.

It may be a bit difficult to see white blood cells actually eating bacteria, but if you try a few times, there’s no reason why you can’t find it.

“To conclude, the reason why infection occurs is because the bacteria that enter the body and the human white blood cells circulating in the blood are fighting. The byproducts are pus, fever, redness, and rashes.”

In infected patients, white blood cell counts increase.

I don’t know if we can measure the number of white blood cells with the equipment we have at our disposal in this world, but wouldn’t it be possible to try?

“I think it lacks evidence.”

How many times do you have to say that, really?

“In fact, doesn’t pus form around an infected wound? Pus has different components from blood or surrounding tissue. It’s because white blood cells rush in to fight the infection.”

The lecture hall began to become so noisy that it was impossible to continue the lecture. There is a basis for this, an overly anthropomorphic metaphor or something.

“Professor, can I see some white blood cells?”

“Oh, yes. Come out and stand in line.”

The sound of people getting up from their seats one by one. The area in front of the podium became crowded in an instant.

****

White blood cells are still dying, so anyone who wants to see white blood cells should do so quickly.

The lecture was suspended, and today again people were lining up for the microscope next to the podium.

It’s a sight I see often.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Violet walked up to the podium. Her expression seemed to indicate that she was curious about something.

“Professor.”

“Yes.”

“So, what was that centripetal force thing you were talking about at first? I think I almost understood it.”

“This means spinning a vial containing blood. If you spin it quickly, the blood will separate.”

“Just turn it quickly? That’s amazing… … How did you know that, Professor?”

“I explained it for a long time. About centripetal force and such.”

“Hmm.”

Violet didn’t look convinced.

“Professor. I was wondering where you heard that. Isn’t it exactly what Miss Istina said at the conference yesterday and was laughed at?”

I don’t know what Istina said at the conference, but I know it was a similar argument.

The idea that white blood cells are like the human body’s soldiers fighting germs was ridiculed, even though it was true.

“Maybe so.”

“You respond quickly.”

“This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

“Isn’t that what Istina said is true? White blood cells exist, and the essence of infection is a war between white blood cells and bacteria in the human body.”

“That’s what I think.”

Of course, the immune process in the human body is more complex than you might imagine. The discussion doesn’t end at the simple level of macrophages eating bacteria.

Still, I see it as a good start.

“Well, this time again, the academic world is full of complaints because of the professor. The neat four-humor theory has been shattered, and it seems that many scholars are not satisfied with the idea that cells, blood circulation, and blood cells, the components of the human body, are a collection of messy microscopic machines.”

“What can I do about that reality?”

But it’s not like I can go around lying. I just nodded.

Violet looked very happy.

“This time, the academic world will be turned upside down. Isn’t this the Holy Grail we’ve been searching for? We’ve found the specific mechanism by which the human body fights disease.”

Isn’t the Holy Grail a bit of an exaggeration?