The allure of the hairy crab aside for the mont, the researchers in the laboratory were still discussing the experintal direction for neural signal transmission.
Finding the right direction at the beginning of an experint is extrely important, as the initial choice could determine just how ’far down the road’ one could go.
Zhao Yi supported Zhang Wei’s idea but felt that what Ai Lixin and Zhu Qi ntioned about conducting a large number of animal neural experints to collect data amounted to a waste of funds with little significance, as he could pinpoint the key elents from a single experint and did not need to do too many similar experints.
At the sa ti, they also agreed on another direction, which was Li Ming’s suggestion, to study nerve cells.
Nerve cells have been studied countless tis, and indeed, it is very difficult to get results from ordinary experints, but the researchers at the Biodical Research Institute are very proficient in studies related to cell chanisms.
This is their expertise.
When undertaking a difficult research project, abandoning one’s area of expertise is not a good decision.
Even if the research on nerve cells yields no results, they could still obtain so data or characteristics of the nerve cells to compare with other experintal directions, thus providing certain reference value.
Conducting research in two directions at once is not an issue for Zhao Yi’s laboratory, as they have enough researchers and sufficient funding to pursue multidirectional research.
The research on nerve cells was entrusted to Li Ming and Ai Lixin, while Zhu Qi and Zhang Wei were responsible for replicating classic experints.
Once the work assignnts were made, they began their preparations.
Leaving aside the research on nerve cells for the mont, the reproduction of classic experints in neural signal transmission did not start with ’hairy crabs.’ Their first step was to replicate the experint of British scientists Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley from sixty years ago, which asured the changes in mbrane potential when a signal passed through neural conduction.
The purpose of replicating the experint was to see the discovery made by the two Nobel Prize winners, which is the influx of sodium ions into the cell mbrane from the outside when a neuron is excited, followed by the efflux of potassium ions from the inside to the outside of the cell mbrane, restoring the mbrane potential to normal.
This is the source of the classic Hodgkin-Huxley model.
Only after that would they conduct the ’hairy crab’ experints, following the research path of Tanzaki Yijiro to study the leg nerves of the Chinese mitten crab and observe them under a microscope placed on small reflective platinum plates, then illuminating the plates with a laser beam.
By asuring the angle of reflection of the laser, they could detect whether the width of the nerve bundle changed slightly when an action potential passed through it.
This required precise operation and many repetitions of the experint.
It is said that Tanzaki Yijiro and his doctoral students conducted hundreds of asurents and made detailed records before concluding that the nerve bundle widens slightly and then narrows during the passage of an action potential, with the changes occurring in just milliseconds.
When Tanzaki Yijiro conducted his research, technology was not as advanced as it is now, and the experintal equipnt he used certainly cannot compare with today’s tools.
With the help of modern high-precision instrunts, it is relatively easy to asure the exact timing of the reactions.
The primary goal of this experint was to prove that there is a direct relationship between neural conduction and the cell mbrane.
Tanzaki Yijiro’s report indicated that when a nerve is excited, the cell mbrane deforms, rising by about a kiloter.
If the cell mbrane deforms and facilitates neural signal transmission, it can largely explain that neural conduction relies not only on electrical signals but also potentially on chanical waves, which are the only cause of vibrations.
Of course.
Tanzaki Yijiro did not receive much recognition, as many believed that the deformation of the cell mbrane was a byproduct of the electrical signal.
But no matter what, the main problem had not been resolved.
What Zhao Yi’s laboratory is doing now is to replicate the two experints that discovered neural transmission of electrical and chanical signals, where they need to asure and record fine data for analysis in the experint.
The two experints described above don’t sound much like biodical research and are more akin to physical experints. Initially, no one paid much attention, but when the actual experintal design began, it was realized that replication was not so easy. The issues related to equipnt and asuring tools could be resolved, but it would be best to have a professional physicist help out.
Everyone has their own field of expertise.
Biodical researchers conducting physical experints and asuring physical data will obviously not be as proficient.
Therefore, Zhao Yi decided to seek the help of a physicist, not necessarily an internationally leading experintal physicist, but even soone with knowledge of physical experints would suffice.
Then he found Gao Yihua.
Gao Yihua was Teacher Gao, Zhao Yi’s physics teacher, and well-acquainted with Zhao Yi, but Gao Yihua’s primary focus was on educational work, and he did not have any notable achievents in physics research.
When Gao Yihua heard that Zhao Yi was asking for help with neural experints, he was slightly bewildered, "Are you sure you haven’t approached the wrong person?"
"Of course not."
Zhao Yi said, "I ca specifically to you, Teacher Gao. Our laboratory is conducting experints to asure neural responses and we need soone who understands physical experints, as well as so precise asuring equipnt."
The latter was the most important.
Zhu Qi and Zhang Wei had long been engaged in biodical research, and while the physical handling of detailed physical experints was not a major issue for them, there could still be errors in data asurent, and capturing accurate asurents during the experintal process was most crucial.
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