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墨書 Inktalez
At eight o'clock the next morning, two cars parked in the northeastern area of West Lake Park near Wenlin Road.
"Creek!"
The passenger door swung open, and Xu Weiqiang stepped out of the car to open the iron gate. The two vehicles slowly started up, following Xu Weiqiang into the courtyard of Old Villa.
"The environment here is quite nice," said Wang Qiming, the captain of the Xiufeng Squad, as he got out and looked around.
"After my uncle's family immigrated, I've kept the key here. Occasionally, I bring people over to hang out," Xu Weiqiang explained.
"Old Wang, let's go check out the backyard first," Li Yanqiu suggested.
"Sure, Mr. Xu, please lead the way," Wang Qiming nodded at Xu Weiqiang.
"Alright," Xu Weiqiang agreed.
They walked through the villa and arrived at the backyard.
"This place is really beautiful," a professionally dressed woman in black stockings exclaimed.
She was Chen Hanshu, a professor in the Department of Zoology and Animal Physiology at Nanquan Bay Ocean University. At thirty-five years old, she had fair skin and a tall figure, embodying the typical southern beauty. She had long been engaged in education and research in molecular genetics and had published several important papers, gaining a certain influence in academia.
"Professor Chen, please take a look at these bodies," Li Yanqiu pointed to a pit.
"Okay," Chen Hanshu nodded.
"Old Wang, Xiao Han and I will go check out that basement," Li Yanqiu said to Wang Qiming.
"Alright, be careful," Wang Qiming instructed.
"Yes," Li Yanqiu replied as he and Han Li left.
Wang Qiming accompanied Chen Hanshu to the vicinity of the pit.
"There are quite a few bodies piled up here; most of them are rats, and there's also a small lamb that was probably thrown in yesterday," Wang Qiming remarked.
"These rats must have been eaten by some kind of creature; perhaps it's what you referred to as a mutated organism," Chen Hanshu observed and made her judgment.
"Professor Chen, do you believe there are mutated organisms in this world?" Wang Qiming asked.
"Of course, mutated organisms are not uncommon; they are a normal part of human evolution," Chen Hanshu smiled.
"Human evolution?" Wang Qiming asked in surprise.
"Yes, humans evolved from other organisms, and during this process, genes continuously mutate to adapt to the environment or to gain stronger survival abilities," Chen Hanshu explained.
"But the gap between humans and other organisms is too large," Wang Qiming said, puzzled.
"On the surface, humans and other organisms do seem vastly different, but essentially, there is no fundamental difference," Chen Hanshu stated.
"Professor Chen, I don't quite understand," Wang Qiming shook his head.
"In simple terms, the genetic differences between humans and other organisms are actually not that significant," Chen Hanshu said.
"The Human Genome Project has been completed. Our genome consists of twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, including twenty-two pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes."
"So you mean that humans have the same number of chromosomes as other organisms?" Wang Qiming understood.
"No, quite the opposite; humans have far fewer chromosomes than other primates," Chen Hanshu shook his head.
"What?" Wang Qiming exclaimed in astonishment.
"Primates generally have a higher number of chromosomes. For example, chimpanzees have forty-eight pairs of chromosomes, macaques have fifty-six pairs, and even rodents have twenty pairs," Chen Hanshu explained.
"Then why do humans only have twenty-three pairs?" Wang Qiming asked in confusion.
"This question remains unclear even to biologists," Chen Hanshu said with a wry smile. "There is a hypothesis suggesting that human ancestors underwent rapid mutations over tens of thousands of years, leading to a drastic reduction in chromosome numbers."
"Rapid mutations?" Wang Qiming asked in surprise.
"Yes, we speculate that at some point in time, human ancestors may have encountered a specific environment or virus that caused chromosome breakage and recombination, resulting in an entirely new genome," Chen Hanshu explained.
"An entirely new genome?" Wang Qiming was astonished.
"Yes, the human genome shows very distinct differences compared to other primates. The most notable feature is the fusion of human chromosome 2 with other primate chromosomes," Chen Hanshu clarified.
"When did this mutation occur?" Wang Qiming asked.
"Approximately thirty thousand years ago," Chen Hanshu replied.
"Thirty thousand years ago? Isn't that around the time when Homo sapiens first appeared on the African plains?" Wang Qiming was surprised.
"Yes, we believe this mutation may be the reason for the rapid evolution of Homo sapiens," Chen Hanshu stated.
"Now I see," Wang Qiming said, realizing.
"Actually, this hypothesis is also controversial, after all, we don't have older genetic samples," Chen Hanshu shrugged.
"Professor Chen, what you mentioned, how is it related to mutated organisms?" Wang Qiming asked.
"Mutated organisms are essentially life forms with genetic mutations, like the Mouse King you mentioned," Chen Hanshu explained.
"Is the genetics of the Mouse King different from that of ordinary mice?" Wang Qiming inquired.
"It should be, and the difference is significant," Chen Hanshu nodded.
"After the completion of the Human Genome Project, biologists sequenced many animals, including mice.
"The results showed that the mouse genome, like the human genome, consists of twenty-two pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes, but their chromosomes are shorter and they have fewer genes."
"However, the Mouse King is much larger; its genome must have undergone significant changes," Chen Hanshu stated.
"I see," Wang Qiming nodded.
"Professor Chen, you mentioned that the human genome differs greatly from other primates. Is it possible that humans are actually mutants?" Han Li suddenly interjected.
"Mutants?" Chen Hanshu was taken aback.
"You know, like in movies, humans with special abilities," Han Li clarified.
"Haha, that's an interesting thought," Chen Hanshu chuckled.
"Isn't it possible?" Han Li asked awkwardly.
"With current technology, it's definitely not feasible," Chen Hanshu said, his smile fading as he spoke seriously.
"However, in the future, who knows?" Chen Hanshu added.
"As gene editing technology continues to advance, perhaps one day humans really could create mutants."
"Uh..." Han Li laughed awkwardly.
"Mr. Xu, may I take a look in the basement?" Chen Hanshu turned to Xu Weiqiang.
"Sure, follow me," Xu Weiqiang nodded and led everyone into the basement.
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