The miniature corpus callosum interface and PROTOCOL sent from the Paris Master finally arrived in Qi Min's hands.

As I have seen from the article of that research group, this "callosum interface" is not so much an interface as a plug-in electrode array group. And it has the "corpus callosum" on it in its name, as if to give the impression that these electrodes are directly connected to the nerve fibers of the corpus callosum. However, in practice, since the shape of the corpus callosum is obviously different in different individuals (and even for men and women), the electrode array only needs to be connected to neurons that are close to the corpus callosum.

In addition to being able to transmit and outgoing signals, the traditional neurobiology view of brain-computer interfaces must also have the function of demodulating signals. This is because people usually study brain-computer interfaces, and the essential need is to understand the brain. However, Qi Min only needs to study whether the brain-like body can exhibit similar properties to animal brains, so he does not need to demodulate the collected electrical signals. This miniature corpus callosum interface, which is actually just a set of precision electrode arrays, is just right for her needs.

However, it will take some time to study how to use this thing.

Because when he was studying for his Ph.D., he used living tissue to measure neurons, and Qi Min was quite familiar with animal experiments. After getting the callosum interface, she began to experiment with Ke Li. On the one hand, this is to catch up with the progress of the experiment, and on the other hand, it is also because the callosum interface was sent by the PI of the Paris master, if Ke Li is allowed to operate alone, he will not be able to bear this responsibility in case something happens.

But fortunately, although Ke Li's code is not very good, he really has a set of ways to deal with rats. Unlike molecular and biochemical experience, animal experiments are not easily transformed into disseminated knowledge, and the methods of manipulating live animals cannot be learned by looking at the literature or listening to other people's lectures.

After watching his operation, Qi Min had to admit that maybe the bugs in her experiments when she was studying for her Ph.D. were also related to her own handicap. It seems that it would be better for her to do more dry experiments or biochemical cell experiments that don't require such delicate operations.

Qi Min and Ke Li worked hard in the ultra-clean room for a day, and finally installed the callosum interface to a rat - during which several innocent rats were also created that became biochemical garbage because of the failure of the experiment.

Out of the clean room, Qi Min looked at his watch and it was already half past seven, only to find that they had not only missed lunch, but were also about to miss dinner.

"Forget it...... I'll install the remaining three more tomorrow. Qi Min took off his hood and said to Ke Li, "I can't get three of them tonight anyway." We have to go eat first, or the cafeteria will be gone. ”

"This little cafeteria meal is gone, right?" Ke Li asked.

"The ordinary cafeteria is probably out of play, but the hot pot is probably still open." Qi Min said, "Let's go, hurry up." Don't run out of meat rolls today, and even the hot pot has to be vegan. ”

——

Qi Min and Ke Li rode and hurried to the only hot pot restaurant in the school. Fortunately, people who usually go to eat hot pot are not in a hurry, so hot pot restaurants usually stay open until almost 9 o'clock, and they are still in normal business hours.

After a day of experiments, the two of them were already hungry, so they ordered some set meals casually and asked the waiter to serve the food quickly. When eating, both of them rarely didn't talk much, and whenever the food was cooked, they took it out and ate it.

After eating in silence until there was only the last dish left to order the noodles, Ke Li drank the last sip of Coke and said with some emotion: "It's been a long time since I've done such a long experiment." ”

"Needless to say, I haven't done experiments for this long in a row." Qi Min said with a smile. When she was studying for a PhD in the United States, the members of the lab were not in a hurry, and it was rare that they missed lunch in order to do an experiment.

"Alas, it's really a matter of self-infliction for yourself to tinker with animals." Ke Li couldn't help but complain, "If you make bacterial yeast, if you can't make it for half a day, you can put it down first, and raise it for a day before doing it." Even if the rat doesn't succeed several times, you can't put it down, otherwise it will die in minutes. ”

"yes, I can't save the time to eat in the middle." Qi Min also said, "But if you want to say that, it's not the worst thing to do scientific research, being a doctor is really fatal." Really complicated surgeries can be done for more than ten hours, and that thing must not be stopped halfway. ”

"Well, that's true." Ke Li smiled, "No matter what experimental animals say, they can't compare with people." And in the final analysis, even if you connect the rat to the brain-computer interface, if you can't succeed and let it die, it's just a waste of money. ”

This is true, but Qi Min really doesn't have enough funds here, and he can't afford to build it like this. And although she has applied for the key project of bioinformatics and has now passed it, it will take some time for the funds of the NSFC to be really allocated. Even if the funds are in hand, they can't just spend them, and the budgets for various reimbursement items are clearly written, and it makes no sense for her bioinformatics project to spend so much money on animal experiments. Therefore, it is better to spend money more leisurely, lest the cost of this project be too large and do not match the budget, which will make it more difficult for her to apply for funding for other projects in the future.

"I think we'd better save some money." Qi Min said as tactfully as possible, "If the animal experiment is over budget, it will be difficult to tear down the east wall and make up the west wall." ”

"Why, we can't make thirty rats, and we can still exceed the budget?" Ke Li asked incomprehensibly.

"I didn't want to give much work to animal experiments in this bioinformatics project." Qi Min explained with some embarrassment.

"But rat behavior is not cheap in the first place." Ke Li said helplessly, "You don't know the market, right?" If you cooperate with the computing center, you don't have to spend any money to do dry experiments. But once the corresponding in vivo experiments are involved, the monthly turnover of hundreds of thousands is really easy. ”

Qi Min really doesn't know much about this market. When she was studying for her Ph.D. before, because her supervisor was also relatively senior, the laboratory had its own full-time administrator. Usually, whether it is to buy consumables or repair instruments, it is arranged by the administrator, so I really don't have an accurate understanding of how much money I can spend on my own topics every month.

And if it's in the United States, I'm afraid it will cost more than at home. Qi Min thought to himself, no wonder most PIs in the United States like to do research with application prospects, and do whatever there is a market. In fact, this may not be entirely to make money, but I am afraid that it is just because the cost of doing experiments is too large, and I have to rub off on those research directions that others are willing to invest money to apply for funding.