episode_0072

Episode 72. Summer Vacation, and the Academic Conference (2)

****

This is the final check before presentation.

“Amy. How many of those rotten loaves of bread did we bring? Do you have a hundred glass bottles?”

“Yes. I brought a hundred.”

“Okay. You can just hand that out to people who want to study blue mold. You know what it says, right?”

“Yes.”

The discovery of antibiotics will be formally announced for the first time at this conference. Except for the class last time.

Could this be the day that changes world history?

I’ll be the one giving the presentation and taking the questions. Amy can just have a general idea.

****

“Thank you for waiting. Next up is Professor Asterix’s ‘On the Bacterial Specific Toxins Produced by Blue Mold’.”

My turn.

There was a gentle applause from the audience, and I went up to the podium with Amy.

I paused for a moment and then began to speak.

“There have been many academic advances over the past few months. But this time, I dare say that our lab has found the Holy Grail of medicine.”

The Holy Grail of Medicine. Similar things were said when white blood cells were observed, but the discovery of antibiotics was much more important than white blood cells.

The audience roared, and even those who had been sleeping raised their heads. Their eyes asked, “What’s going on?”

“What if you could destroy the things that cause disease in the human body? What if there was a substance that could selectively kill only pathogens?”

There is usually a separate time for questions during academic conference presentations. Someone must have been unable to hold back, so someone raised their hand. I looked at the audience.

At the academy, I had a rough idea of who was who, but here, many people gather together.

I couldn’t tell who he was. He was just some old, old healer.

“Ask a question.”

“The idea that diseases are caused by tiny biological particles is a relatively new theory. Now you’ve found a solution to that problem? Isn’t that too much of a leap?”

I nodded.

“Let’s continue with the presentation. A few days ago, while I was doing an experiment to grow bacteria, I observed that bacteria were not growing around a blue mold strain that had been created by chance.”

I looked around the stands.

“Why is that? Since bacteria multiply by division, it is natural that their numbers would increase exponentially until there is a nutrient limitation. Why didn’t the bacteria grow?”

silence.

“There is only one conclusion that can be drawn. The fungus in question used a weapon that can kill bacteria in order to take over the resources of the culture dish. A toxin that selectively kills bacteria but not the fungus.”

The crowd roared again. But the logic is right. Does that have any basis? Does it make sense? I have to see it to believe it. He’s a fraud.

“You know what I’m saying, right?”

I don’t know if there were really more negative comments, it just sounded that way.

“That’s why it’s called the Holy Grail. A drug that can selectively destroy pathogenic bacteria without harming eukaryotes. A drug that can eliminate infections just by taking it.”

Any healer who has lived in this world will have lost a patient to an infection caused by a wound. It is impossible not to.

Gangrene and necrotizing fasciitis.

In the Middle Ages, this disease was so feared that if a person was injured in battle, it was not uncommon for that limb to be amputated entirely.

Of course, as time passed, hygiene improved and survival rates changed somewhat. This world also has its own standards.

Still, the fact remains that the diseases mentioned are terrible and terrifying diseases.

“Gangrene or necrotizing fasciitis, diseases where the flesh rots away in simple wounds. If we could simply treat fatal gangrene with a simple medicine, how many patients could we save? That’s what I’m hoping for in this discovery.”

They didn’t just start making noise, they started talking openly. I raised both hands.

“I understand, so please be quiet. I’ve written down most of what I know about the substance in the paper, including the method of making it that I’ve figured out so far.”

This time, raising their hands wasn’t enough, and people started getting up from their seats one after another. No, let’s talk, you crazy guys.

“No, listen to me. I’ll take your questions later. For now, I’ll explain how to make this to the best of my knowledge.”

The crowd in the stands has somewhat quietened down.

“For mass production, you need a liquid blue mold culture. Here is the recipe I used, but there is probably a better recipe out there.”

A container of blue mold roughly the size of a tumbler will yield a few milligrams of penicillin. A bathtub would be enough to make a few pills.

“One good thing is that since the blue mold produces sterilizing substances anyway, the result will not be contaminated with bacteria.”

I looked around the stands.

“Well… … . That’s about it. Now I have to find a way to purify penicillin from blue mold, but I haven’t found it yet.”

“Anyway, my lab inoculated mice with bacteria that we cultured, and then fed them fungal extracts, and we were able to confirm that they were effective in preventing gangrene and necrotizing fasciitis.”

****

“Then… … . Question.”

Dozens of hands were raised. I looked at the host, but he just shrugged. Well, he can’t do anything about it.

“From the teacher in the front seat.”

“Yes.”

The man who was pointed out stood up from his seat.

“For the sake of medical advancement, I would like you to disclose which fungi were used in this study. Fungi that have bactericidal properties.”

It was a shameless and shameless statement that I expected to hear. I nodded. I was planning on sharing the blue mold strain anyway.

“Oh, yes.”

Should we push a little harder?

The real bomb is still behind the podium.

“The original plan was to bring back a blue mold strain with bactericidal power and share it with you so you could study it… … .”

The conference hall suddenly became a scene of chaos.

****

The once strong Berlin Wall collapsed with a single word from a bureaucrat: “As far as I know, from now on.” This conference was in a similar situation.

My one word about sharing the Holy Grail of medicine caused the conference to collapse, and the expected questions and answers I had prepared were all thrown into tatters.

The conference hall itself was paralyzed as everyone stood up to receive samples of the blue mold strain.

It was a mess. People were trying to get up on the podium, people were saying something to ask questions, and people were discussing things among themselves on the spot. It was noisy.

Still… … . Even if what I said wasn’t conveyed at all, I think this conference was a success.

My goal was to convince people that antibiotics could be used clinically, and I couldn’t have done that more clearly.

anyway.

We need to do some traffic control here.

“Everyone, just shut up. If possible, we’re trying to have a few from each institution. How many institutions are participating in the conference?”

I looked at the host.

The host also looked at me with somewhat resentful eyes. Well, the conference was paralyzed because of me… … . It was understandable to be upset.

Come to think of it, I think other conferences have had similar experiences. In fact, every time I attended a conference, there was a mess like this.

Well, it’s not wrong for everyone to be so passionate about learning. In fact, it’s a very positive thing. It means that my research has that much impact.

“18. They come from universities, hospitals, and research institutes all over the empire.”

I nodded.

People from 18 institutions, including hospitals and schools. What’s important now is to send at least one strain to each of these 18 institutions.

“Then. Let’s start by distributing it to you. What is it? Representatives of each organization, please come out first!”

The audience was in an uproar for a while, and then professors and healers representing the institution walked out. Most of them were elderly.

Traffic is finally being organized a bit now.

“Amy. Give them to me one by one.”

“Yes.”

Amy handed out one jar of moldy bread to each of them. There were still dozens of jars stacked next to the podium.

How should we divide up what’s left… … .

“Then. Everyone, stand in line!”

The host was pressing my temple next to me. Dozens of people were lining up in front of the podium. They had already distributed them to each organization.

Wouldn’t it matter who takes it?

“Just share it.”

Amy began distributing blue mold strains to people in the order they lined up.

The people who were standing a little further back in the line grumbled and returned to their seats.

The operation was a success.

There is no hospital or educational institution in the Empire that has not secured a strain of blue mold. It took a dozen minutes for the situation to be resolved.

“Then. Is there anyone who didn’t receive it?”

I looked around. It seemed like there was no one who wanted it but didn’t get it. Why not grow it and share it, or stack bread and let blue mold grow on it?

I have shown you the method, and it is not an inimitable process.