Super Zoo-Chapter 788 - 767 Gene Technology

"Research using the White-headed Leaf Monkey's fur and nails?"

Suming blinked in surprise. Research what?

"Professor Heisenberg didn't say it had to be the nails, but mentioned any keratin would do..." Bai Chen hurriedly explained, "Nails are just the largest and easiest form of keratin to obtain."

Suming nodded without saying a word, his mind racing through several thoughts, and he had a bad feeling.

Three little monkeys, that had been shaven, seemed to have re-emerged from somewhere, leaping onto the throne-like boulder where Suming sat, scratching their ears and cheeks, and chattering softly, as if asking Suming to take up their cause.

The White-headed Leaf Monkey is mostly black in color, resembling a chimpanzee, except for the white fur on their shoulders, head, and buttocks. The white hair on their heads stands tall, like a white crown or a tuft of white flames burning.

This monkey species is extremely rare, even rarer than the giant panda; they have been existing on Earth for three million years and are only found in Huaxia, with no live or specimen discoveries reported abroad to date.

Genes are the most profound and mysterious secrets of animals. A small segment of genes can contain a vast amount of information; different genes can lead to completely different functions...

It can be said that genes determine the form of life. Why birds can soar in the sky, fish can dive deep into the ocean, elephants possess immense strength, and venomous snakes hold dangerous venom... it all relates to genes.

Suming had graduated from Medical University, and he had some understanding of genetic research. This science could be considered the highest-end of human knowledge to date, not even nuclear technology or aerospace technology could compare; at the same time, due to the complexity of genetics itself, it is also the slowest in progress and least researched science.

Most of the current research on the secrets of genetics remains at the level of inference and speculation.

Unlike applied sciences, genetic science, especially animal genetics, has progressed with great difficulty, so there are very few practical applications. On the contrary, it requires considerable investment and even carries certain ethical and moral risks, which is why it's hotly debated worldwide but actually researched by very few institutions.

Suming once attended a lecture given by a leading international figure in genetics. The lecturer shared a multitude of conjectures about genetics, but what struck Suming the most was one remark; it was about if humans could crack the genetic code, master gene cloning technology, and allow new genes to coexist benignly with original once, then it would be possible to create "superhumans."

Possessing incredible strength, able to go to the heavens and dive into the seas... Genetic technology is lauded as the realm of the gods, the magic of studying the soul.

Coming back to the present, that foreign professor was conducting biological research, wanting to collect genes from the White-headed Leaf Monkey, which was understandable.

Suming did understand some of the basic principles of genetic technology. Genetic research requires stable and mature samples. The White-headed Leaf Monkey has been around for over three million years on Earth, and their genetics could indeed meet the criteria. "New species" that have only a few hundred or thousands of years of history, including humans, actually possess relatively unstable genes, or one could say they are still evolving.

For example, humans, from the original Homo sapiens of the mountain-cave era to modern people, are separated by less than twenty thousand years, yet show significant differences in form and function.

As the White-headed Leaf Monkey is not found outside Huaxia and is one of Huaxia's national treasures, foreign research institutions could not easily access them. Therefore, the foreigner asked Bai Chen to steal the monkey fur for research.

This series of events seemed plausible, and while the actions of the foreign professor were unscrupulous, they could not be regarded as too despicable.

But Suming always felt something was not quite right, as if it was all too sneaky.

He had encountered some foreigners, including scholars and people from high society, and they shared a common trait: law-abiding.

It wasn't that they were born with a high moral standard but rather that their education from a young age, as well as the societal systems they grew up in, accustomed them to following rules and laws. The cost of breaking the law was high.

Things like having affairs with female students or falsifying research papers were absolute high-risk activities at universities overseas. Once exposed, one's career and reputation would be basically ruined.

Therefore, foreign scientists generally wouldn't engage in illegal activities for the sake of their research.

They would rather expend more effort to network and advocate, using their influence and financial resources to lobby the lawmakers they supported in order to propose bills that would change the laws that were disadvantageous to them, instead of breaking the law.

"Do you have that professor's information?" Suming asked Bai Chen.

"Information?" Bai Chen was first startled, then quickly added, "Professor Eisenberg is German, a visiting professor at our school with no official post. Oh right, he only became a visiting professor this year."

The girl beside him tugged at his sleeve and whispered a reminder, "Didn't you take a photo with Professor Eisenberg? Show it to the leader."

"Oh right, right! I almost forgot." The young man hurriedly took out his phone, opened the screen to reveal the camera photo interface, found a photo, and then handed the phone to Suming, "Leader, take a look. This is a selfie I took with Professor Eisenberg after a lecture."

Suming took the phone; the backdrop of the photo was a very common large classroom, which Suming even remembered—it was the lecture hall 303 in Building 2 of the Medical University, where he too had listened to lectures during his studies.

The center of the photo featured two people, one was Bai Chen, grinning foolishly, and the other, a tall male Caucasian with light golden neat short hair, his face bearing the distinct angular lines of the Germanic people, wearing a snug, impeccable suit, extremely handsome.

This Professor Eisenberg also sported a gentle smile, basking in the sunlight pouring through the window, resembling a deity out of a medieval sculpture.

"He is quite handsome," Suming said with a smile, directly sending the photo to his own phone, then deleting the sending history and his cellphone number, before handing the phone back to Bai Chen.

"Leader, I've said everything I needed to," Bai Chen ventured, asking softly.

Suming thought for a moment. After all, the two students hadn't done anything terribly wrong. Even if handed over to the police, they'd likely only receive a scolding and some education.

He had matured quite a bit and often put himself in others' shoes,

If the roles were reversed, if someone had offered him a few thousand yuan during his school days to sneak into a zoo and snip some hair from a White-headed Leaf Monkey, he'd probably have done it too. It was fun, thrilling, money-making, and wouldn't really harm the animals, so what was the harm? Besides, this kid also had a girlfriend—what boy wouldn't want to make life a little better for his girlfriend?

"Do you realize your mistake?" Suming asked with a stern face.