More than ten minutes later.
The office door opened quietly.
"Professor, Academician Mao has arrived."
At the same time, a zero-marking alert sounded.
"Professor Lü, you wanted to see me?" Mao Zhengzhi stood at the door, a hint of trepidation on his face, and asked in a low voice.
He was just scolded yesterday and is still somewhat traumatized.
Am I going to get scolded again today?!
Thinking about what might happen next, Mao Zhengzhi felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Lü Yongchang raised his head and waved to Mao Zhengzhi.
"Academician Mao, come here."
Upon hearing the call, Mao Zhengzhi swallowed hard and, with a "death-defying" air, took a few steps into the room.
Seeing Mao Zhengzhi's awkward movements, Lü Yongchang was momentarily stunned, then recalled the somewhat "unpleasant" things that had happened yesterday.
"cough!"
He coughed lightly: "Don't worry, I didn't come to see you today about cloning technology."
Upon hearing this, Mao Zhengzhi breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down in the chair in front of Lü Yongchang.
"Click".
A crisp sound rang out from the electromagnetic adsorption device.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a hint of shame on his face: "Professor, actually, I thought about it for a long time last night."
"Oh?" Lu Yongchang smiled slightly when he saw Mao Zhengzhi's expression. "What? You're still hung up on that cloning technology, aren't you?"
"No, no, no!"
Mao Zhengzhi shook his head vigorously: "I have thought about it carefully, and it is indeed as you said, the hidden dangers of human cloning technology are too great."
"For human civilization at present, there is absolutely no need to take such a risky and dangerous path."
Lü Yongchang smiled and nodded: "It's good that you can figure it out."
"I've come to see you today mainly for another matter."
As he spoke, he reached out and made a gesture in the air.
A holographic image appeared in front of Mao Zhengzhi.
"This..." Mao Zhengzhi's expression changed slightly, and he asked in a low voice, "Whose medical examination report is this?"
As the developer of the medical pod, Mao Zhengzhi was naturally very clear about what this data meant.
"Speaker of the council."
Lu Yongchang uttered three words softly.
"Hiss!!!" Mao Zhengzhi gasped sharply, causing the temperature in the office to drop by 0.00001 degrees Celsius.
"I remember the Speaker of the Legislative Council was only 85 years old. How could he have aged so much?!"
A hint of helplessness appeared in Lü Yongchang's eyes: "It should be related to his previous lifestyle."
"Back on Earth, the burden on his shoulders was too heavy, and overwork depleted his physical functions."
"At present, the next Speaker of the People's League has not yet been determined."
"The Speaker believes that Representative Hong is a good choice, but... it will probably take a lot of time to convince the other representatives."
"Of course, out of personal consideration, I also hope that the former Speaker can live a little longer."
Mao Zhengzhi instantly understood what Lü Yongchang meant.
He looked at Lü Yongchang with a solemn expression: "So, you want to use the biotechnology of the Proxima Centauri civilization to break through the limits of human lifespan?"
"Not bad." Lü Yongchang nodded slightly.
Unlike before, thanks to the medical pod, the Speaker of Parliament was in good health and had no illnesses that could affect his lifespan.
He is simply getting old.
This is also the most troublesome thing.
Aging is irreversible; this is a lesson learned by humankind over thousands of years.
Mao Zhengzhi was clearly aware of this as well.
The moment he heard Lü Yongchang's words, his brows furrowed tightly.
According to current theoretical calculations, the longest human lifespan is approximately 120 years.
This number is derived from the cell division formula.
Simply put, every time a human cell divides, the telomeres at the ends of its DNA decrease a little.
Therefore, based on the total length of telomeres, the number of cell divisions a human will undergo in a lifetime can be estimated.
50 times.
This is the limit of normal human cell division.
The lifespan of each generation of cells is approximately 2.4 years.
Based on this calculation, the maximum human lifespan is 120 years.
Of course, there are other calculation methods.
For example, the Gompertz model is a mathematical model used to describe the patterns of population extinction in organisms.
According to this model, the maximum lifespan of humans is estimated to be around 120-130 years.
For example, calculations can be made based on the general lifespan patterns of mammals on Earth.
The lifespan of mammals is 5 to 8 times their growth period.
The human lifespan limit derived in this way is approximately 125 years.
Regardless of the method, it proves one point.
No matter how advanced medical technology becomes, until the telomere problem is solved, the maximum human lifespan will only be around 120 years.
"Therefore... we must start with telomeres."
Mao Zhengzhi concluded in a low voice.
After saying that, he suddenly raised his head and looked straight at Lü Yongchang: "Professor, I have an idea."
...
A Mysterious Maiden II quietly sailed out of the Earth Starship.
Unlike other Xuan Nu IIs, this Xuan Nu II has undergone extensive renovations—the entire cabin has been converted into a small biological laboratory.
In the Xuan Nu II, Lü Yongchang, Fang Xu, and Mao Zhengzhi, dressed in full protective suits, sat solemnly in the cockpit.
"Zero, go directly to Proxima Centauri b," Lü Yongchang gave his order.
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful recoil force pressed the three of them firmly into their chairs.
Xuan Nu II also headed straight for Proxima Centauri b.
"Yongchang..." Fang Xu's voice came through the team's radio, "Do we really have to go to Proxima Centauri b to conduct experiments?"
Before Lü Yongchang could speak, Mao Zhengzhi chimed in, "Of course."
"We will also need to dissect several Proxima Centauri corpses for sampling."
"You wouldn't want to see their organs flying everywhere, would you?"
Fang Xu's face fell.
The thought of his organs flying around made him gag instinctively.
"Yongchang, I think the command center might need me..."
"Shut up." Lü Yongchang interrupted Fang Xu impatiently. "As my deputy, how can you not even have this much tolerance?"
"I promised you a couple of days ago that I'd take you to a biology lab to broaden your horizons."
"At this point, don't even think about deserting your post."
Fang Xu's expression grew increasingly bitter: "But, but I'm not a biology major either!"
"Don't worry, you'll be there soon."
As he spoke, Lü Yongchang gazed at the orange-yellow planet in the distance and said casually, "As the second-in-command of the Academy of Sciences, I still need to master these basic common sense facts."
Fang Xu: "..."
As Proxima Centauri b drew ever closer, his face grew increasingly ashen.
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