Chapter 154: Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (9)

FOXP2, a gene first reported in 2001, was called the language gene. Faraneh Varga Kadem, a neuroscientist at University of London, and her team discovered this gene after examining a pedigree of people with severe speech impairment. Excited, they wrote a paper and published it in

Nature

.

[This gene appears to be one of the key factors that carries out a crucial role in how humans use language.]

Of course, FOXP2 wasnt the only gene as biologys complexity meant that no single factor determined all outcomes alone. However, it was clear that a significant portion of the human language ability was linked to this gene.

FOXP2 was especially highly expressed in fetal brain tissue to create complex language systems; it developed the brain tissue responsible for language processing and the motor nerves that controlled the tongue, vocal cords, and mouth movements.

Then, was the FOXP2 gene unique to humans with advanced language skills? It wasnt. Many mammals had slightly different versions of this gene. In bonobos, in particular, the human FOXP2 gene differed in only one place in the entire genome. It was like changing one part of the same car. This meant that bonobos had language ability.

Kanzi, a bonobo born in 1980 at the Yerkes Primate Research Center in the United States, was a living testament to this. At the time, attempts to teach language to apes were popular in academia, and the original subject was not Kanzi, but his mother. However, young Kanzi, who watched the scientists teach his mother words, actually ended up learning language.

After that, the research team changed their subject to Kanzi. This genius ape succeeded in understanding three thousand words until he died. It wasnt even hieroglyphics; Kanzi had learned lexigrams, established symbols that represented a word and had had no connection to the actual objects.

Kanzi not only understood words, but he knew how to write sentences. He could gather word cards, make a clear sentence, such as I want to eat grapes, and communicate that to scientists. Later, he demonstrated a level of tool use humans had in the Stone Age, breaking large stones to create sharp tools and using them to cut rope. Eventually, Kanzi was even able to gather firewood, light it with a lighter, and roast marshmallows.

At this point, it was difficult to determine whether to consider Kanzi as an animal. And along the way, bonobos were banned from laboratory use because they were endangered, highly intelligent, and were too human.

But I didnt know there were animals that have schizophrenia.

Young-Joon picked up the office phone and called A-Gens Research Support Center. As he called the center every week for the past year, the representatives were able to recognize his voice.

What can I help you with?

The representative asked.

Please connect me to the Experiment Animal Resource Center.

Yes, Ill put you through.

After some ringing, a representative from the Experiment Animal Resource Center picked up.

This is the Experiment Animal Resource Center. What can I help you with?

Hello, this is Ryu Young-Joon from A-Bio. Can we get some bonobos?

Bonobos?

They were baffled, just like Young-Joon expected.

Yes. Not just bonobos, but I need ones that have schizophrenia.

What?

Of course, since theres no way to be sure that they have schizophrenia, you can tell me the ones that exhibit psychotic behaviors. Then, I can check it out for myself.

Uh Im sorry, but we dont have bonobos.

I thought so. But A-Gen would have done experiments with bonobos in the past, and we still have chimpanzees, right? Could you see how we got bonobos in the past?

Please wait. I will call you back later.

The representative hung up. The Experiment Animal Resource Center was able to provide Young-Joon with anything if there was something he needed while doing countless experiments. But this wasnt easy even for them. That was how difficult it was to obtain this experiment resource. However, Young-Joon was confident that he could handle the rest if he knew what country and organization supplied them.

Ring!

After a moment, Young-Joons office phone rang again.

Hello, this is the Experiment Animal Resource Center again.

The representative said.

I looked through some shipping manifests and invoices regarding the import of LMO (Living Modified Organisms).

Yes.

And it says it was important from Congo.

Congo?

Yes. The Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is protecting bonobos, and it seems that we got them from there.

Would the center be able to contact them again and buy it?

Um

The representative hesitated like she was put on the spot.

Ill try.

The representative said.

Thank you.

Young-Joon hung up and called Park Joo-Hyuk into his office. They needed another strategy to pressure the MFDS based on the experimental results from bonobos.

Are those MFDS bastards crazy?

Park Joo-Hyuk was furious after he heard what Young-Joon told him.

They wont start unless a precedent is set in the United States. That drug is going to belong in the United States if the precedent is set there, Park Joo-Hyuk said.

Its an attempt to avoid blame, which is typical for a government official. But honestly, I get it, Young-Joon said.

Why?

Thats how much this technology is baffling.

That bad?

Yeah. but I have confidence in this. And if there are seven billion people in the world, seventy million people suffer from this disorder. If there is enough evidence that this is successful in bonobos, its worth pushing for clinical trials, even if we fight with the MFDS.

Hm.

Park Joo-Hyuk crossed his legs and thought.

Should we start looking for clinical trial patients before it gets approved?

Ring!

The phone rang. It was the Experiment Animal Resource Center. The phone call was probably redirected to Young-Joon after Yoo Song-Mi, his secretary, spoke to them.

This is Ryu Young-Joon speaking.

RYK picked up the phone.

Hello, sir. Im Lee Ji-Young from the Experiment Animal Resource Center.

Yes.

I am calling you about the bonobo import you mentioned before. I just contacted the Congo Salonga National Park, and they said that they cant export any bonobos.

They cant?

Yes. The Congo government stopped exportation after they were declared an endangered species.

Then I will get them myself. Could you tell me the contact information of the representative you spoke to?

Oh, sure.

Young-Joon could hear the keyboard clicking over the phone.

I just sent you an email of the contact information along with a few invoices that weve used before. Please call us if you have any more questions.

The representative said.

But it says that the exportation of bonobos is prohibited by the government. How are you going to get them?

Oh, well

Please teach it to us if it goes well.

Haha, alright.

Young-Joon hung up. Then, he briefly explained the situation to Park Joo-Hyuk.

... So, I have to go to Congo, Young-Joon said to Park Joo-Hyuk.

Park Joo-Hyuk frowned like that was ridiculous.

I think you spend more time overseas than in Korea, Park Joo-Hyuk said.

You want to go with me? Young-Joon asked.

Ill think of a way to push for the clinical trial, Park Joo-Hyuk said.

Alright.

But what are you going to do when the government banned exportation? Do you have a plan?

Im going to use this.

Young-Joon pulled out a golden badge from his wallet.

What is that?

Jamie Anderson gave it to me as a present. Its a badge for the Great Scientists Club (GSC).

* * *

After going into the GSC website, Young-Joon opened the badge and took out the security card. It was similar to a security card for banking. The difference was that the GSC only had one hundred members.

Young-Joon created an ID on the GSC website and entered his security card to complete the verification. However, that was not the end of the identity verification. The GSC was the most prestigious club of scientists who could provide scientific advice to governments and major organizations around the world. The verification process for the GSC was much more direct and strict: someone came from the GSC. They came from the Korean branch, and the workers were very excited to help Young-Joon get verified.

Honestly, the Korean branch has only been able to provide services to foreign scientists when they came here and asked for help. Until now, the GSC representative said as they finished Young-Joons verification process. Now that youre a member of the GSC, we can hold our heads high.

Thank you for your help, Young-Joon said.

After the GSC representatives left, Young-Joon looked for a GSC member that was in Africa.

Michelle Njabo: she was a professor at Boston University medical school who had returned to Congo, her hometown. She taught briefly at Boston University, and now she worked for the welfare department of the Congo government.

Young-Joon sent an email for help to Michelles GSC email. It didnt even take a day for her to respond.

[This is Michelle. We are always welcome. Please give us a call when you arrive in Congo. We will help you take all the bonobos you want.]

* * *

After three days, Young-Joon arrived at the Ndjili International Airport that was in Kinshasa, Congo. Michelle and government officials came to greet him. Michelle was a middle-aged woman who looked to be around sixty-years-old.

You said you wanted to see the bonobos before taking them, right? And youre picking the ones who have psychotic behaviors? she asked.

Thats right.

But you scheduled the park visit for later in the afternoon.

Im going to take care of business in the park first and then go rest at the hotel.

I see. Shall we go?

Michelle took Young-Joon on the limousine she brought. They drove for about two hours and went to the Salonga National Park.

We were expecting you. We will guide you, the safety staff and the guide said.

They transferred Young-Joon, Michelle, and the others into three cars that looked like safari tour cars, and they drove it themselves. After passing the dry field, a small forest appeared. It was the bonobo reserve. There were about fifteen thousand bonobos that were divided into more than a thousand groups.

Young-Joons group soon encountered the first group.

But if you want to pick out the bonobos that are in a psychotic state like you want, you will have to observe them with the guides over here, Michelle said.

However, Young-Joon pointed to one female animal in the group.

Its that one.

The guide was surprised.

That one is Ginai, and its a female. It has been acting strange lately.

The guide and the park rangers stared at Young-Joon, wondering how he knew.

The way she keeps pulling out grass looks like neurotic behavior, Young-Joon said as an excuse.

They couldn't see, but Rosaline, who was on Young-Joons shoulders, was selecting bonobos with Synchronization Mode.