Chapter 296: Unique Advantages

A week later.

The long battlefield cleanup work finally came to an end.

To Lu Yongchang's surprise, there were quite a few good things in the Proxima Central Computer.

Apart from anything else, the information on the Hall thruster alone was enough to improve the strength of the human fleet to a higher level.

According to Zero's preliminary estimate, the improved Hall thruster was more efficient, enough to allow the human fleet to reach a maximum speed of 20% of the speed of light outside the star system.

This is undoubtedly a huge improvement.

Especially for human civilization.

The Proxima system, whose main star is about to go out, is destined to be just a springboard for replenishing supplies, and they will eventually go to the next resource-rich and habitable star system.

As for the target...

The Proxima civilization has found a destination for them.

The Ross 154 star system, 8.24 light years away from Proxima.

Ross 154 (with Proxima as the origin)

The main star Ross 154 has a mass of 17% of the sun and a radius of about 24% of the sun.

Like Proxima, it is also a red dwarf in its teenage years.

According to the exploration of Proxima civilization, there are three gas giants and four solid planets in the Ross 154 star system.

Although these solid planets are not very similar to the Earth, for humans at present, they are the best choice within ten light years nearby.

Every time he sees the extremely detailed exploration data in the database, Lv Yongchang is grateful to the Proxima civilization from the bottom of his heart.

Thank them for their hard work in exploration for hundreds of years.

Otherwise, he would need to spend a lot of energy to explore the right star system.

"Professor, Academician Mao Zhengzhi has something to ask you."

Zero's voice broke Lv Yongchang's thoughts.

"Hmm?" His eyes moved slightly, "Are there any results in the experiment?"

"Yes."

Hearing Zero's response, a hint of excitement flashed in Lv Yongchang's eyes.

He immediately untied the electromagnetic adsorption device, stood up from the chair and walked out of the office.

...

[Earth] Biological Main Laboratory.

"Professor, there are results!"

As soon as the door of the laboratory was opened, Mao Zhengzhi's excited shout reached Lv Yongchang's ears.

Lv Yongchang hurriedly quickened his pace, quickly walked to Mao Zhengzhi's side, and cast a puzzled look at him.

Looking at Lv Yongchang's curious eyes, Mao Zhengzhi subconsciously wanted to keep it a secret.

But thinking of his experience on Proxima b a few days ago, he quickly killed the "wrong idea" in his heart.

"Ahem!" Mao Zhengzhi cleared his throat and reached out to call up the results of various experiments, "Professor, the chromosomes of Proxima civilization also have parts similar to telomeres."

"Not only are the structures similar, but their functions in the cell division process are also very similar."

"It also ensures the integrity and stability of chromosomes."

Lv Yongchang was not surprised by this.

From the genetic data sent by Proxima civilization, it can be seen that there are many similarities between Proxima genes and human genes.

About 10%.

Although it looks like a lot, in fact, this number is actually ridiculously low.

You know, the genetic similarity between humans and bananas is more than 50%.

"So, what did you find from the telomeres of these Proxima people?"

He asked, taking a sip from the bag of drinking water beside him.

"The maximum lifespan of Proxima people is about 80 years old."

"Cough cough cough!" Hearing this, Lv Yongchang couldn't help but cough violently.

After swallowing the remaining water in his mouth with great difficulty, he looked at Mao Zhengzhi beside him in disbelief.

"Are you sure?!"

"80 and 639, the difference is a bit big!"

639 is the lifespan of Augustus.

In view of his death from genetic weapons, his maximum lifespan should be much higher than this number.

Even if we don't talk about individual cases, the average lifespan of 500 years alone is far higher than the answer given by Mao Zhengzhi.

Mao Zhengzhi shrugged: "At that time, I also suspected that I had seen it wrong."

"I even asked Zero to verify it more than ten times."

"But the results are the same."

Lv Yongchang's mood calmed down a little.

As a scientist, after a brief surprise, his first reaction was to think about the reasons behind this phenomenon.

His brain was spinning rapidly.

The brain, which had been strengthened by the system day after day, quickly associated it with a substance.

"Telomerase?"

Mao Zhengzhi was a little surprised.

He didn't expect Lv Yongchang to grasp the key point so quickly.

"Not bad." He nodded and reached out to open another file. "I found a substance in their cells."

"It has a very similar effect to telomerase."

"However, this substance exists in every cell of Proxima Centauri."

"They can synthesize and replenish the telomere material worn out during cell division."

At this point, Mao Zhengzhi paused slightly, and a 3D simulation animation began to play in the holographic projection in front of him.

"According to Zero's calculation simulation, the degree of telomere wear of these Proxima Centauri within 100 years old is almost zero."

"In other words, the synthesis rate of telomerase is extremely close to the rate of telomere wear."

In the projection, cells divide again and again, and the telomere-like material behind the chromosomes slowly decreases, but the telomerase-like enzyme quickly synthesizes the telomere-like material to replenish the worn part.

"Such a process will not change until you are 100 years old." Mao Zhengzhi shrugged, "There are not many experimental samples, so this is also a rough estimate."

"This time will vary from person to person. Some may be 110, 120, or even 150 years old, while others may be 80 or 90 years old. This is also the reason for the huge difference in the life span of Proxima Centauri people."

"After a critical point, telomere wear begins to accelerate."

"The rate of telomerase synthesis remained unchanged."

"As a result, telomeres start to shorten until they disappear."

The 3D animation in the holographic projection then stopped playing.

Lu Yongchang's face was filled with exclamation.

He took a long breath and sighed in a low voice: "Sometimes I have to sigh at the magic of the universe..."

Mao Zhengzhi interrupted his sigh: "That's not all the magic."

"Remember that special organ we discovered then?"

Lu Yongchang was stunned for a moment, then reacted instantly: "You mean the organ that specializes in swallowing cancer cells?"

Mao Zhengzhi nodded, his eyes full of envy: "Even with the help of telomere-like and telomerase-like enzymes, these cells will still produce a large number of mutations during the continuous division process."

"This mutation probability will continue to grow as the number of divisions increases."

"And that special organ just solves the problems of Proxima Centauri people."

"They don't need to worry about their cells becoming cancerous."

As he spoke, he smiled bitterly: "Compared to Proxima Centauri, humans don't seem to like the Creator in this regard."