Chapter 124: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (11)
Mr. Forsberg, are you really okay with this? asked a bearded man with a good build. It was the Secretary General Kanius; he was a permanent member who held the highest position at the academy.
Its alright, Forsberg replied with a grin.
I am worried that you are being too reckless with your body. Science is important, but your body is important as well, Kanius said.
Im really fine. And Doctor Ryus idea is quite convincing. Both technologies are so stable that they dont need any other approvals.
But since this is the first case of combining and using them together, this clinical case could conflict with medical laws. I hope you could ease them if they come up, Your Royal Highness, Forsberg said to Desideria.
Song Ji-Hyun flinched. It seemed like she was surprised that Desideria was a princess. Young-Joon was also surprised, but it didnt really show.
Forsberg added, Because even if this treatment goes wrong, I dont want it to hold Doctor Ryu back. My work in the scientific community is done and Im just reviewing Nobel Prize nominees now, but Doctor Ryu is a young scientist who has much to do.
Desideria stared at Forsberg silently, then said, I will promise you in the name of the Swedish Royal family.
Then we will prepare the treatment to administer to the patient, said Young-Joon.
I look forward to it, Forsberg said with a chuckle like he found it interesting.
Young-Joon, who said goodbye to the scientists and the Crown Princess and stepped outside, headed straight to the lab. It was the lab he borrowed from Karolinska.
Professor Kakeguni appeared with the dendritic cell-promoting kit. On the sterile bench, Young-Joon added Cas9 into the MEM solution, which was heated to thirty-seven degrees, and mixed in the promoting kit.
As they were busy with the procedure, a guest visited the lab. It was Crown Princess Desideria. She came to the lab with her security team and entourage, rang the doorbell and waited outside. She thought that she shouldnt go into the lab without authorization.
When Young-Joon came outside, Desideria asked him a question.
Doctor Ryu, can you really cure Professor Forsberg? I didnt get the chance to ask you before because we were in front of the professors.
Young-Joon nodded.
Of course.
Please, I am asking you. He is the most important person at the academy. He sacrificed his whole life to look after patients and teach students.
Forsberg was a national hero in Sweden. He was the greatest doctor in the country. He had a similar level of respect and recognition as Professor Lee Guk-Jong[1] in Sweden. It was not an exaggeration to say that he had sacrificed his entire life for medicine. He had collapsed five times from overworking when he was a surgeon at Karolinska and looked after patients. He was also very open to new technologies, so he spent nights reading new papers. If he found a technology that was even a little bit more advanced than what he had, he was the first to adopt it. He wasnt just a regular doctor at a hospital; he was someone who had continuously led medicine in Sweden.
He is probably well-known in the pharmaceutical and biology community. Is this the first time youve seen him? Desideria asked.
I Yes, I didnt know him. Im sorry, Young-Joon replied in embarrassment.
Because Doctor Ryu is young, Kakeguni, who was now behind him, said as he put his hand on his shoulder. How many people do you think would recognize Mendel if he came back alive and showed up here? Scientists do not know faces of people from the past who they havent met in research. The scientists pictures arent published in the papers.
I see.
Desideria nodded.
There was no way for Young-Joon and Forsberg to meet in the research field since Forsberg had already retired and become part of the Nobel Committee when Young-Joon was in graduate school.
But there are a lot of professors in my age group that know Professor Forsberg, even though medical doctors are quite different from scientists in pharmacology and biology, Kakeguni said.
Desideria added, Professor Forsberg is one of eighteen lifetime members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. If you cure him, the Royal family of Sweden and the academy will be deeply grateful to you both.
Young-Joon nodded.
I will make sure to succeed.Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m
* * *
It was early in the morning. The dendritic cell promoter, a monumental masterpiece made by Kakeguni, was created. Usually, they included a material that was like a map to find cancer cells in the promoter, but this time, Cas9 was added. Additionally, information about the structure of fourteen genes was added into the promoter in the form of RNA.
We will begin.
Marcus injected the treatment into Forsbergs veins with trembling hands.
Can you check it?
The conference was over. The scientists at A-Gen or A-Bio had already returned to Korea, or they were enjoying their vacation and traveling all over Europe.
However, Young-Joon was still at Karolinska. It was the last day of reviewing the Nobel Prize nominees. The final decision was going to be submitted to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences tonight.
Of course, the biggest issue was the countereffect of the immune checkpoint inhibitor.
I explained the mechanism in which it occurs through lab mice. But now, the mouse experiment isnt that important.
Since a clinical case was reported, said Professor Herrekr.
Jamie Anderson gulped. The hyperprogression that occurred in Forsbergs body was a huge shock to Oliver, the inventor of the immune checkpoint inhibitor, and to him as well.
But this is only the first case. And we dont really know if the patient had a mutation in EGFR, right? Jamie said. Judges, the immune checkpoint inhibitor has been administered to many patients, but this is the first time hyperproession has occurred. It is ridiculous to devalue an important drug like this just because of a single incident.
I am not saying that we should not use immune checkpoint inhibitors. Of course, it is still valuable and an important drug, Young-Joon said. But it can induce hyperprogression in patients with EGFR mutations. In that sense, it is true that the value decreases a little in terms of versatility.
Jamie Anderson clenched his jaw and glared at Young-Joon.
The immune checkpoint inhibitor was developed at the Cold Spring Laboratory, and the director of that lab was Jamie Anderson. He put his name as a corresponding author on every paper published from there. What this meant was that the value of the immune checkpoint inhibitor decreasing also impacted Jamie Anderson.
The things that Doctor Ryu has said still require additional experiments and cross-examination, said Jamie Anderson.
That is true since it says that less than ten percent of the papers in Science or Nature will survive fifty years later. I might be wrong, so we must cross-examine it. When the paper is published, many scientists will test the relationship between immune checkpoint inhibitors and EGFR genes.
But Doctor Ryu, we cant delay the Nobel Prize until then, can we? We cant cancel the Nobel Prize just because of one clinical case and mouse experiment. Professor Oliver should receive the award.
Jamie Anderson was being stubborn.
...
The Karolinska professors sighed worriedly and glanced at the two of them. They were Swedish, and they were doctors. Not just any doctor, but doctors at Karolinska. Here, Forsberg was a legendary person, and they were obviously uncomfortable with the immune checkpoint inhibitor that had destroyed him. As such, they were already leaning towards Young-Joon and Kakeguni, but Jamie Anderson did not back down easily.
The confrontation lasted for a moment. Then
Sorry, Im late.
Marcus, who was one of the judges, came in. Surprisingly, he was pushing a wheelchair. It was Forsberg.
Professor!
Surprised, the Karolinska professors all bolted up.
Should you be out like this? they asked, worried.
Ah, its fine. I am recovering quite quickly, Forsberg said with a chuckle as if he was in a good mood.
He stared at Young-Joon, then turned to face Jamie Anderson.
Its been a while, Anderson.
... Yes, it has. How are you feeling? Jamie Anderson asked with a frown.
Hahaha. I trusted your name and used the immune checkpoint inhibitor, but I almost died. But Professor Kakeguni and Doctor Ryu Young-Joon saved me, Forsberg replied. Then, he asked the professors, So, how is the process going? Who are you leaning towards?
Professor Forsberg has no right to participate in the judging process, Jamie Anderson said firmly.
Oh, of course I dont. I just asked because I was curious. I have no intention of interfering with the process. However, Director Anderson, you know
Know what?
My right as a lifetime member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has not been suspended. Lifetime means until I die, but Im still alive thanks to Doctor Ryu and Professor Kakeguni.
...
When the review is complete, the Karolinska Nobel Conference will vote, then present a letter to His Majesty the King that includes the name and achievements of the final selected candidate, saying that we should give the Nobel Prize to this person, Forsberg said. If Im lucky, I think I will read that letter beside His Majesty as well. I think I will be able to leave the hospital quickly at this rate.
Jamie Anderson grit his teeth. Forsberg smiled.
And Director Anderson, I think I am going to be suspicious of whether it was due to racism if someone is eliminated, so I hope you make a wise decision and present the letter.
1. a very famous and well-respected doctor in Korea
