Chapter 37: Weight/Substance (Asking for Favorites, Asking for Follows)

"What's up with Wang Shixiong today? Why does he seem a bit unhappy?" Evening, eleven o'clock.

Fang Ziye only had time to come back to the lab to check on his cells now, and asked Luo Tingzhu.

But at this hour the lab was still brightly lit, and the number of people was not small. The academic master's students and doctoral students of Teacher Deng's group were all still busy with their own work.

Even professional doctorates, like Wang Shixiong Yuanqi, only came to the lab to do some cell experiments after leaving the training room.

"I just got here a little while ago too, but I heard Senior Brother Yan Zhiming say it seems Wang Shixiong flow cytometry failed, so his mood is a bit bad." Luo Tingzhu was copying experimental operation procedures at this moment.

When first encountering a new experiment, even if one has watched teaching videos many times, to avoid forgetting, one still needs to copy out the entire experimental procedure once.

"Failed?" Fang Ziye really wanted to take a look, but didn't dare touch the mold for the sake of knowledge points.

"Actually failure is very normal, but Wang Shixiong flow cytometry has failed three or four times already, wasting a lot of money." Luo Tingzhu said this.

"How much does one flow cytometry run cost?" Fang Ziye asked.

Ever since entering the lab, Fang Ziye would pay close attention to price issues; therefore a bottle of fetal bovine serum, four to five thousand for only five hundred milliliters, this price, even diluted into culture medium, is still one yuan per milliliter!

Can this still withstand accounting?

"I don't know either?" Luo Tingzhu spread her hands.

Oh, Fang Ziye also forgot, Luo Tingzhu is also a lab rookie, just not as rookie as himself.

"Have your cells grown?" Fang Ziye changed the topic; yesterday Luo Tingzhu had just revived cells, but his own revived cells were growing quite well, nearly one-fifth adherent.

In another two or three days, a portion can be collected for freezing, then passaging can begin the next step of experiments.

"Not bad, I'm doing osteosarcoma, one-third adherent. Growing pretty fast." Luo Tingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Ziye was quite envious: "Worthy of the orthopedic tumor cell divine artifact osteosarcoma, grows much faster than the giant cell tumor of bone I'm culturing."

Different cells have different growth cycles and division cycles, this stuff has no feed to give. Fang Ziye could only envy dryly.

"No matter, slow growth is fine."

"Can I borrow your notebook? I'll copy the scratch assay experimental steps." Fang Ziye asked.

The scratch assay is an experiment recording cell migration function, equivalent to letting tumor cells from different treatment groups run toward the blank area starting from day one.

Whoever runs faster has stronger metastatic ability.

According to expectations, HK2 overexpression should be greater than normal group, greater than silencing group.

Overexpression is equivalent to an athlete taking doping; normal group is normal rest; silencing group is equivalent to an athlete pulling ten all-nighters before a 100-meter sprint and then firing hundreds of rounds of artillery for two days, running the slowest.

It is an experimental method to detect the migratory ability of cells from different treatment groups, also a relatively simple method, easy to operate and get started, mostly the first proof-of-operation experiment for rookies newly entering the lab.

"Sure, I'll give it to you after I finish copying." Luo Tingzhu nodded, then continued copying the cell invasion assay steps word by word.

To verify tumor cell invasive ability, there is another experimental method.

……

While Fang Ziye waited for Luo Tingzhu's lab notebook, unexpectedly Wang Shixiong Yuanqi walked over curiously first: "Ziye, when did you come to the lab?"

Fang Ziye was currently looking at the specific scratch assay steps and staining, photo-related preparations.

Hearing this he hurriedly put down his phone: "Just came in, Wang Shixiong."

Wang Yuanqi laughed and said: "I was wondering why I didn't see you in the training room today, turns out after you ascended you ran over here?"

"Isn't this following Wang Shixiong your footsteps? You ascended earlier." Fang Ziye hurriedly moved a stool for Wang Yuanqi to sit down.

The person in charge of this lab is Teacher Deng Yong; the lab was also applied for by Teacher Deng Yong from the hospital, so actually whether it's Yuan Weihong or Fang Ziye, currently both are following Teacher Deng Yong.

Wang Shixiong Yuanqi is a second-year doctoral student; his operations are more awesome than Fang Ziye's currently, though not by much, he's still more formidable; at least his benchmark is the doctoral graduation "training room" requirement.

Fang Ziye currently doesn't dare covet that far.

"Are you doing Wei Ge's experiment? How's the progress?" Wang Yuanqi might not have the heart to mind other things at the moment, so he came over to chat with Fang Ziye casually.

"Only revived cells yesterday, still haven't frozen them yet, it's very early Wang Shixiong."

"No matter, all things are hard at the start; once you've taken the first step, you'll get used to it later. If you need help, I'm free, send a message or something, don't be too distant." Wang Yuanqi was still quite friendly.

Probably also knowing Fang Ziye will still have to enter under Teacher Deng Yong as a fellow trainee later, counting as warming up the relationship in advance.

"Thank you, Wang Shixiong."

Wang Yuanqi didn't sit long, then went to pack up dejectedly again; even if the experiment failed, what needs packing still must be packed; experiments are full of too many uncertainties, and most are new directions; other people's experimental methods can only serve as reference.

After Luo Tingzhu finished copying the experimental steps, she said: "Senior Brother Fang, why don't you take it back to copy? It's not early. I'm going back first."

"Alright, I'll go back too, walk together?" Fang Ziye invited.

Luo Tingzhu nodded.

The two left the lab door together, attracting no attention; they're originally senior brother/sister or senior sister/junior brother from the same lab, what's weird about walking together?

And it's already late at this hour; those still in the lab all have their beloved cell babies on their minds; who would care who walks with whom?

Today entering the lab, didn't get knowledge points; Fang Ziye was a bit disappointed, but while pressing the elevator button waiting, he didn't let the atmosphere go cold: "Senior Sister Luo, you're not far from the doctoral graduation training room requirement, right?"

Luo Tingzhu didn't refute: "But for hospital retention, I'll still be short on research accumulation. Our hospital orthopedics department retention quota is extremely competitive now; basically without one or two first-tier journal papers, don't even think about it."

"Senior Brother Sun Shaoqing is just short of a first-tier journal basic paper; because a senior brother in joint surgery has three. And he's not far from the doctoral training room graduation requirement either."

Fang Ziye was startled hearing this.

Good fellow.

In his teacher Yuan Weihong's cohort, passing the training room meant hospital retention; now, passing the training room plus a first-tier journal paper might still not meet the retention standard?

"I believe Senior Sister Luo, you have good talent, you'll definitely find a good job." Fang Ziye encouraged Luo Tingzhu.

Luo Tingzhu shook her head again: "Senior Brother Fang, you're wrong again; Teacher Deng's place?"

"Not enough research projects; I have to find a way myself. If next year I can pass writing a grant application and get a national fund, I'll have funding for experiments; otherwise?"

"Actually I really envy you, Senior Brother Fang, directly having money for experiments……"

"Huh?" Fang Ziye froze.

"Senior Brother, not every doctoral student has money for experiments. I live in the dormitory; Senior Brother you probably don't live in the dormitory, right?" After getting off the elevator, Luo Tingzhu asked this.

"I rented a place outside." Fang Ziye explained.

The two of them parted ways just like that.

However, after chatting with Luo Tingzhu like this, Fang Ziye suddenly discovered that following a young supervisor actually had benefits and drawbacks that weren't so obvious, as long as one could cross the major hurdle of pursuing a PhD.

After all, even after pursuing a PhD, he was still Master Yuan Weihong's student; Yuan Weihong's research projects, Fang Ziye could still use the funds inside to conduct experiments, and the scientific research output would still count as Yuan Weihong's, merely borrowing Teacher Deng's identity as a PhD supervisor.

Rather than directly falling out with Yuan Weihong.

Yuan Weihong is a young supervisor; the prerequisite for bringing students is securing a General Project or a National Natural Science Foundation Youth Fund — there is plenty of money, and time, and surplus papers to give...

Since that is the case, as for the other Senior Brothers, then I won't stand on ceremony?

(Chapter End)