Chapter 429 - 401 The Second Generation Prosthetics

Atlas Group’s research conference hall.

This was an online meeting used to give Lille a unified report on research progress—

Every researcher was equipped with a Cyber Modulator, which uploaded data to this online conference hall from the information collection terminals in their respective laboratories.

For Lille, he only needed to sit in his chair, yet he could directly see the achievements the researchers intended to present to him.

The first project came from the Biological Laboratory: the development of second-generation Prosthetics and organ cloning based on Lizard Serum.

First Generation Prosthetics refer to existing medical equipment such as artificial heart valves, pacemakers, simple limbs, and the like.

The first generation’s Prosthetics are the version widely promoted by the international gene cooperation company and have been gradually incorporated into the health insurance of New York City residents.

These Prosthetics use motors, pistons, and other mechanical transmission structures to imitate human limbs, largely made of plastic and metal.

Although a good design can achieve a certain degree of biomimicry, machinery is machinery. Without the byproduct of Lizard Serum—Chlorobilin Immunosuppressant—as a complement, the rejection reaction would be quite severe.

Even so, if there is a large amount of these Prosthetics implanted in the body, they would still trigger a not insignificant immune response.

The second generation of Prosthetics is very different. In the Cyberpunk Era, the watershed for the second generation is the invention of artificial muscles, which completely replaced the power components in the first generation.

In the twentieth century of that world, a European scientist happened to invent an Electric Active Polymer that could change shape and size under the action of an electric field and caused a rejection reaction several orders of magnitude lower than the materials used in the first generation.

Based on this Electric Active Polymer, the development of the second generation of Prosthetics was put on the agenda.

After so many years of development, the main material of artificial muscles is not only Electric Active Polymer but also includes shape memory alloys, pneumatic and hydraulic organics, dielectric elastomers, and more.

These new materials generally have a faster response speed and more precision than the first generation, and under typical circumstances, greater strength.

Second-generation Prosthetics, combined with the immunosuppressants of the Cyberpunk World, do not cause life-threatening rejection reactions when extensively implanted. The "skin-like" products also entered the market during this period and were classified as second-generation Prosthetics.

And the second generation of Prosthetics here at Lille’s side were even more impressive—

The approach used by the international gene cooperation company was to directly extract stem cells from the target, clone them using Lizard Serum, and induce cellular differentiation to form enhanced muscles.

Once successful, one could say that there was no rejection reaction because this artificial muscle was still muscle and not something else.

The artificial muscles in Cyberpunk World were basically based on breakthroughs in magical materials science. But those from Atlas Group stemmed from further applications of Lizard Serum.

Professor Conners began to demonstrate their new achievements.

In the virtual space, there appeared a scene, captured from Professor Conners’ mind, that made one feel as if they were there.

To some extent, this was like achieving Super Dream in real-time through the network, employing the same principle as the man-machine synchronization technology used by the cross-dimensional factory, but more advanced.

Professor Conners approached the cultivation pod where various discomforting human organs and tissue cells were placed in these pods—

The origin of every sample in each pod was clearly traceable; half came from donations, and the other half from distressed populations in urgent need of medical services.

The stem cells first divided under the action of Lizard Serum, then were induced to divide in physical and chemical stimulations, forming fixed cells.

This method of induction not only had to ensure the correct differentiation of cells but also had to guarantee orderly growth in the cultivation environment.

[Conners: The cultivation of specific functional cells is very mature. Peter has found a way to direct the cultivation of these cells and "weave" them according to demand into specific functional groups, such as pectoral muscles, spinal muscles, and cardiac muscle cells.]

[Conners: Because microscopically, this process is somewhat similar to... knitting a sweater, we call this method "Cell Functional Group Weaving Technology."]

Peter, wearing a white lab coat, walked into the laboratory, followed by Gwen.

Through numerous experiments, summaries, and inductions, Peter had risen to the rank of researcher for his cell weaving technology.

Having provided technical support on biotechnology body examinations and routine electronic support to the NYPD for eight months, Peter had earned a sentence reduction and administrative pardon.

In one more week, he would be done with his sentence, ready to start looking for a university to attend—

However, having experienced so much, Peter, who is about to turn 18, appeared very steady in his work. At least, he had completely concealed any signs of joy, showing no hint of his inner thoughts.

The experiment was crucial.

As the initial sample, only 1ml of stem cell culture had been taken from Peter’s body.

After the first round of injections with Lizard Serum and nutrients, the stem cells would rapidly divide to form a cluster smaller than half the size of a fist, resembling a tumor.

The cluster of stem cells would then be transferred to the next culture medium, undergoing induced differentiation with complex biochemicals and electrical stimulation.

The whole process showed signs of being quite mature.

Under the stimulus of electric current and culture medium, the tumor-like cells became muscle cells and were arranged orderly with the rise and fall of nano-scale net scaffolding, then guided by nano-scale knitting needles to the biological plastic skeleton that acted as a framework.

Soon, a symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing finger was obtained.

The finger was then taken to the next experimental facility, where electrical needles released current, simulating the body’s bioelectricity to stimulate the muscles—

It functioned well.

The process did not stall, everything was going as planned, indicating that the technology was indeed mature.

The scene shifted to another area, where Conners faced a huge wall.

Mounted on the wall were dozens of glass boxes, filled with experimental subjects such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits.

Beyond that, there was a wall of monitors displaying larger animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, and even monkeys— more experimental subjects.

From what was showcased, International Gene Cooperation had already invested tens of millions of US Dollars and was continuing to increase the investment—

For a company established for less than a year, these figures were unbelievably high, but International Gene Cooperation had made it happen.

The massive investment yielded unimaginably impressive results; not a single scientist here was ordinary.

[Conners: As you can see, a total of 1860 experimental subjects, over 600 skeletal muscle groups, cardiac cell groups, and the majority of smooth muscle groups have already completed experiments.

The replacement muscles could essentially cover 99.999% of the scenarios for the disabled population.

All 1860 animal samples are in good health, and their functionality has also seen certain improvements.]

[Conners: In the human body, every square centimeter of muscle can generate a force of 20 to 40 Newtons, with a single cell tension of 0.3 to 3 milliNewtons.]

[Conners: However, mature muscles cultivated with Lizard Serum, within the safe density range, can produce up to 230 Newtons per square centimeter, and a single cell tension of 10 to 80 milliNewtons.]

[Conners: I suggest we conduct a more systematic classification of the finished products—after all, not everyone needs the strength of Superman.]

After showcasing all this, Conners revealed a confident smile, lifted his arm, and rolled up his sleeve—

There was a brand new Second Generation Prosthetic that looked virtually indistinguishable from an original limb.

[Conners: Moreover, the first human trial has already been successful, and I feel very good.]

[Conners: Oh, and by the way, this is artificial skin printed from a mixture of collagen and skin cells, a technology that’s already quite mature. I guess as Second Generation Prosthetics become more popular, their manufacturing costs will also drop.]

Lille nodded slightly, and a notification sound rang in his ears.

[Biological Laboratory Project Completed: Second Generation Prosthetics (Artificial Muscle, Artificial Skin)]

[Reward Technology Points based on participation: 500]

[Current Technology Points: 9500]

[Lille: What about the risks?]