Chapter 212: Developed Agriculture and Animal Husbandry_1

Donald let out a long sigh, "In the future, we could at most improve this engine rather than creating an entirely new concept of engine.

"The highest speed of the current engine has reached 1% of the speed of light, but there should still be significant room for improvement.

"Two of these engines have already been installed on spacecraft, but many problems were discovered during use, and we expect to spend another one or two years on improvements before implementing them again."

Initially, the nuclear engine was jointly developed by Guanghan City and PDC, but as PDC grew more hostile toward Guanghan City, their cooperation ceased.

As global class and thought became increasingly solidified under the influence of Genetic Modification Technology, PDC's research on the nuclear fusion engine never made any breakthroughs.

After Guanghan City developed the nuclear engine, it resulted in a generation gap between themselves and PDC in terms of Solar System exploration technology.

This engine made interstellar travel possible, but it still required further development, or else a single trip might take tens of thousands of years.

Jiang Yu remembered that this type of engine had a limit of 15% of the speed of light, clearly indicating that the path to developing the nuclear engine was long and arduous.

Furthermore, in terms of space industry and colony construction, Guanghan City achieved considerable success.

However, these successes weren't attributed to new technology but rather to higher efficiency, which when compared to the nuclear engine, was only icing on the cake.

Donald next shared with Jiang Yu the scientific achievements in the field of genetics. Human DNA is divided into two types, one being the body's DNA, and the other being junk DNA.

The concept of junk DNA was already established, with most genetic information remaining dormant, essentially serving as a "record" of human evolutionary history.

The so-called "body DNA" is a concept put forward by Bo Xiangdong, who comprehended that by controlling these genes, one could change every aspect of the human body, referring to the DNA that can be directly expressed through the body.

Bo Xiangdong had essentially mastered the technology to control human DNA, and Gu Zhize was working on fine-tuning it. It was anticipated that in another twenty to thirty years, humanity would be able to control its own DNA.

However, how to use this technology wasn't yet decided upon, so it remained confidential.

Gu Zhize's previously proposed rejuvenation drug was successfully developed, and it was due to its application that Guanghan City could treat most diseases associated with aging in humans.

The life expectancy of Guanghan City's residents had reached the maximum that nature allows for humans.

Finally, Donald described the technologies in space agriculture and space ranching, using pictures and narrative to give an overview of their development and current achievements.

Starting with space agriculture, this research group greatly benefited from Bo Xiangdong's research outcomes.

The genetic modification of crops quickly evolved from uncontrollable radiation breeding to controllable genetic editing.

From the photos, Jiang Yu saw that the newly cultivated wheat had almost completely lost its original appearance.

The wheat heads were somewhat similar to the original, only much larger, resembling small corn cobs.

Moreover, the leaves and stalks were drastically different, with the stalks much shorter and the leaves more abundant, forming a green circle akin to sunflowers.

The wheat's root system was also highly developed; in the culture solution, the root mass appeared several times larger than the combined volume of the leaves and wheat heads.

As long as nutrients and water were sufficient, such wheat could mature from germination in just one week.

This wheat was layered in a vast culture room, with each level illuminated by simulated sunlight from above, allowing the wheat to grow continuously day and night.

Another direction in agricultural research was the synthesis of artificial starch; by adding other trace substances, it was possible to simulate crops like corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes—almost all mainly composed of starch.

However, according to the observations of the science academy, the human digestive system does not absorb products synthesized from artificial starch very well.

Experts in the relevant fields at the science academy studied this issue for several years and ultimately concluded:

The human digestive system is not yet well-adapted to synthesized products made from artificial starch.

When Donald reached this point, he provided a detailed explanation.

According to reliable research reports, humanity's digestive system has undergone a significant transformation.

Originally, Homo sapiens were omnivorous animals that even obtained the nutrients they needed from grass in a very inefficient manner.

Latterly, as Homo sapiens began to hunt, they could obtain nutrients more quickly from meat, and the brain developed accordingly.

To supply enough nutrients to the brain, the human body began to "conserve" energy within the digestive system.

The appendix started to shrink during this time, ultimately becoming a vestigial organ.

Following the onset of agriculture, humans were able to directly obtain carbohydrates from plant seeds, leading to a further atrophy of the digestive system.

Now, let alone leaves, even raw meat can't be digested.

This evolutionary process lasted for one hundred thousand, perhaps even several hundred thousand years, and to align with the digestive system, the liver—this "chemical plant"—also underwent substantial changes.

Plants, in their efforts to avoid being eaten, have also gradually evolved, either developing thorns, hard shells, or toxins.

As plant toxicity increased, the liver also evolved in tandem; otherwise, Homo sapiens would have been poisoned to death long ago.

Current artificial starch products, although containing many trace elements, are still "purer" compared with fruits that grow naturally on crops.

This confuses the liver and digestive tract: weren't there supposed to be toxins? Why are there none now?

Artificial starch-based foods can further reduce the burden on the digestive system, but this change has been too rapid, without giving the human body time to adapt.

Therefore, the absorption of products related to artificial starch is not very thorough.

Hearing this, Jiang Yu suddenly recalled something Thirty-Six had said: Natural evolution can no longer elevate humanity to new heights; if humans desire to advance further, they must evolve themselves.

To deal with issues like artificial starch, relying on natural evolution is clearly too slow.

Donald said, "So those crops that can grow quickly in the space farms serve as a transition between the original crops grown in the soil on Earth and artificial starch products."

Jiang Yu asked, "Have you ever considered using genetic technologies to alter the human digestive tract?"

"Some have suggested it," replied Donald, "but everyone agreed that the idea was too radical. Governor Burton's response was: 'Do not consider it for the next twenty years.'"

Jiang Yu nodded, obviously, people's thinking had not kept pace with the needed speed of evolution.

This matter could not be rushed; people's perceptions had to be changed gradually.

Donald continued to introduce the Space Ranch, stating that while the space farms were merely an adaption of Bo Xiangdong's research, the Space Ranch was a direct application of it.

Initially, the project team had two directions: one was to establish ranches in space similar to those on Earth, and the other was to use 3D printing technology to print meat.

However, animals imported from Earth found it difficult to adapt to the Moon's low gravity environment, and their growth cycles were not as rapid as anticipated.

Meat created using 3D printing technology smelled awful, leaving people without the slightest appetite.

After these two approaches proved unviable, the project team started to use Bo Xiangdong's technology to directly cultivate pork, beef, and lamb.

By studying the DNA of livestock such as pigs, cows, and sheep, the project team quickly found a controllable method for cultivating meat.

First, pork cells were placed in a petri dish, then they were supplied with nutrients and commanded to reproduce meat cells using bioelectric signals.

In one day, a two-kilogram piece of pork could be formed.

Both in terms of taste and texture, it was identical to real pork because it was, in fact, a real piece of pork.