Chapter 291 The item that 'grandpa' found for 'grandson'
"What?"
James, who is nearly one-tenth as handsome as Roland, squinted his eyes. His pupils were filled with surprise. He stared at his sister for a few seconds. Without getting any more information, he glanced around, waiting for him to see the girl from Ash The naturalness exuded from Li and Mary, and the subconscious movements of pursing their lips fully revealed his inner world.
"Damn!"
"The **** guy didn't tell me again!"
He patted his thigh in resentment, wanting to throw away the gift in his hand, but as soon as he raised his arm, the emotion of regret drove him to put the things on the table again, looking at the two gift boxes, one big and one small, with a helpless smile , clinging to the face.
"This guy must have done it on purpose!"
Since 1996, Roland and James have been together less and more apart.
The former needs to work, while the latter needs to study.
But the distance in time and space cannot cut off their feelings and relationships.
James communicates with Roland regularly, and Roland always cares about each other, often sending spring-like warmth to his friends.
For example, the Christmas gift was a summer camp admission ticket to Johns Hopkins University; and then after learning that the other party had received an invitation to enroll, he specially met with Michael Bloomberg, hoping that the other party would Being able to take care of the little ones…
(ω)
Well, maybe the person concerned may have something to say about this concern.
But no matter what, they are still connected to each other over the years.
Although-
Every time he communicates, Roland always brings up some commonplace questions:
‘Have you found a girlfriend yet? '
‘Need me to introduce you to one? '
'Eighteen can fall in love! '
‘Don’t wait for my child to come out, you are still single! '
‘Anyway, you don’t play games, so you don’t need to develop such a fast hand speed! '
Whenever Roland reveals his true feelings, James on the other end of the phone will quit the voice cursing, but isn't the mother-in-law's inquiry also a manifestation of a close friend? It's like there is a kind of cold that mother thinks you are cold...
Well, more often than not, the parties feel that this is mocking themselves.
However, even though James wasn't interested in Roland's care and concern, he still didn't take the excessive action of not bringing gifts to Roland for Christmas.
When choosing a gift, James had already thought about how to show (gift) muscle (beg) meat (forgiveness) in front of Roland this year, so that Roland would be more honest in the future and less likely to bring up those unpleasant things in front of him. .
But now, this guy ran away?
This is boring!
It's like sending souvenirs to certain authors along the network cable. After the things are mailed out, the recipient is Wang Dalong!
That sense of powerlessness made James feel that Christmas this year was meaningless.
"James? James?"
Just as James was thinking wildly, he called out and pulled his thoughts back.
Looking down, his sister Elizabeth was patting his arm, "What are you thinking?"
"Mom called us downstairs for dinner."
"Ah, good." Hearing these words, James immediately put away the boredom in his heart.
What if Roland is not here?
Christmas is a time for family reunion, happiness is the most important thing!
As a grandfather, he doesn't deserve to be as knowledgeable as his grandson!
snort!
╭(╯^╰)╮
He came to the restaurant with his sister, and the delicious food on the table made James, who was smiling again, move his index finger.
Perhaps because the topic of previous years disappeared, he, who hadn’t seen his family for a long time, finally experienced the feeling of being valued by his family again after nine years, and became the focus of everyone’s attention.
Under the curious inquiries of his sisters, James at the dining table told about his experience for more than a year.
"The gap between Baltimore and Los Angeles is too big, the temperature there is below ten degrees in winter!"
"Wow, how did you live?" Elizabeth opened her big blingbling eyes.
"Buy a down jacket!" James said: "I have a down jacket in my suitcase. I put it on when I was waiting for the plane in Baltimore, and I took it off after getting on the plane!"
"This is so troublesome!" Mary frowned and complained.
"Yes!" James nodded in agreement, and said, "However, the temperature is not bad, so I can bear it."
"What makes me uncomfortable is that the law and order there is not good!"
"Baltimore's West and East Sides are the gathering places for black drug lords, and there are people fighting in broad daylight!"
“At the gate of our school’s Peabody Conservatory of Music, there are often black people blocking there to rob!”
"The law and order around the medical school is also very bad. When I first entered school, I learned that once a medical student passed by the blue light district after school, he was beaten to death just by looking at the gangsters in the middle of the fight!"
“And then all the school buses were replaced with bulletproof glass.”
"Ah! So dangerous?"
Hearing what his son said, Ganetti, who was still smiling, was startled, "Where's the school police at your school?"
"Mom... don't you know that the campus police patrol coverage area is the most unsafe place?" James shrugged helplessly, and complained: "If it is not too chaotic, is it necessary for the school to send campus police to patrol every day? "
"So your current travels are all avoiding the area patrolled by the campus police?"
"No, I'm not leaving school at all!"
Although everyone knows that Baltimore is a murder capital, knowing and witnessing are two different concepts.
If you say here in Los Angeles, there are a lot of homeless people on the road. They are like NPCs in the game. Whenever you pass by, you can see all kinds of guys, but as long as you don’t get close, they won’t send you (big) If you shout (yell) as a (big) task (shout), then Baltimore is equivalent to the capital of sin.
Open Google's crime map, select Baltimore, and you will find that the map is full of yellow and red dots.
Among them, yellow is the place where the theft occurred. If it is a money bag icon, it means a street thief, and if it is a residential icon, it means a burglary. As for the red dot...all of them are murders with guns.
There is also a 'famous saying': Only rats go to Baltimore!
The American drama "The Wire" also explains the situation in Baltimore very well.
While James complained, David in the chief seat showed no sympathy, "Didn't you choose it yourself?"
"I told you to go to UCB, if you don't go, you have to go to Baltimore."
As soon as this remark came out, James was helpless again, because he knew that his father was still brooding over his behavior of abandoning UCB Haas School of Business and choosing JHU's School of Biomedical Engineering!
"Dad! Didn't I dislike that thing?"
"Is this a matter of liking or not?"
"Of course! If there is no interest-driven, where does the motivation to learn come from?" James subconsciously moved out his grandson, "Look at Roland, that is interest-driven career. If he is interested in movies, he will join Hollywood. He is interested in the Internet. If you are not interested, then switch careers and invest in the Internet, you can accept his choice, how come you can’t do it with me?”
Such words made David give his son a blank look.
‘Using a case of survivor bias to explain everything, I think your book has been read in vain! '
'Roland's success is because he is good? '
'No! It's because you are the only one beside him! '
However, since his son moved out of Roland, David stopped nagging.
He felt that he could help Roland keep an eye on him for more than ten years, so he would naturally not favor one another and force his son to inherit his career.
Besides, real estate is really hard to do.
Under the circumstances that the infrastructure in various places is infinitely perfected and the population will not increase rapidly, the profits of this industry will become less and less, and more commercial real estate companies will switch to business. In this case, find a way out in advance, Also a good choice.
Not to mention, the son chose the ultimate field of human development, biomedical engineering.
"Okay, okay, everyone has gone, so study hard~" David waved his hand, and said to his wife: "Although the law and order in Baltimore is not good, as long as he stays in school, it is impossible for him to have an accident of."
"And with Roland here, the school dare not let him have an accident."
What David said is true. As the guy named by the chairman, the dormitory where James lives is the campus police duty room on the first floor, and there are people on duty 24 hours a day. want to go upstairs.
No way, safety first!
However, just when David wanted to get rid of this dull topic and restore the atmosphere at the dinner table to the joy of Christmas Eve in the past, James suddenly added, "Actually, I won't stay in Baltimore for too long."
"Huh? Why?" Ashley asked curiously.
The other four people also cast doubtful eyes on him.
"Because Professor Carroll has taken on a new project and wants to study with her supervisor, so from next summer, she will frequently travel between UCSF and JHU, so... I am going to join in the fun."
"It doesn't make much difference to me to graduate earlier and later, as long as I complete the credits within six years."
"And Professor Carroll has already selected the corresponding courses for me when I enrolled at the beginning of this year. As long as I finish the courses in the next spring semester, the theoretical knowledge will basically be fine."
"Is that so? Then you might as well transfer to UCSF directly!" Ganetti felt that his son was unnecessary.
Of course, she was even more worried about her son's description just now.
David didn’t have any opinions, but he gave advice on life, “If you often travel between San Francisco and Baltimore, I will buy you a business jet, which will be more convenient.”
Facing this proposal, James' eyes lit up, but the next second, he shook his head and said, "Let's forget about the business jet."
"You and Roland didn't buy it, so what's the point if I use it first?"
"I don't need it for the time being, and Roland is too lazy to buy it!" David rolled his eyes, "He went back to England this time to ask Charlie Munger to borrow a Boeing 777! And he doesn't know what to do How many times!"
"I'm used to this. Back then, I asked him why he didn't buy clothes and luxury cars when he made money, but he said it was unnecessary."
"At that time, I felt strange, how could there be such a person in this world!"
"Now I know that at that time he had already left material needs and pursued spiritual pleasure."
"Buying clothes, watches, and luxury cars? Is it easier to buy a company?"
"What's more, for things like appearance, having a girlfriend will naturally improve."
Just as James politely declined his father's proposal, Elizabeth, who was eating ice cream there, suddenly raised her head, "Then when are you going to find a girlfriend? Do you want to find someone prettier than Kate!"
When his sister mentioned this matter, James, who was supposed to speak righteously, had black lines all over his head.
Glaring at his younger sister, he signaled the little guy not to open any pots, and at the same time, before his mother asked, he decisively changed the subject and looked at his father, "By the way, when we talk about buying company, I just remembered one thing."
"Will Roland's Watch Ventures invest in companies that have already gone public?"
"What do you want to do? Scam money from Roland?"
"Let me tell you, I read all the accounts of Roland Company, so don't make mistakes."
Having said that, David's eyes were full of ridicule.
He didn't know that his son was avoiding his wife's inquiries, and wanted to block the other's mouth with work?
Of course, although he guessed the reason correctly, he missed the result.
Single James really doesn’t want to talk about his girlfriend with his mother, but he really has something he wants to talk to his father about.
"Dad! Am I that kind of person?"
"yes."
"Hi! I'm serious!"
"Okay! Just tell me, I'll see what flowers you can make..."
"Then I said it?"
"Don't waste time!"
"Well, didn't I say that Professor Carol and her mentor have new projects to research? The company I mentioned is related to the new project they are researching. Before, Professor Carol and her mentor discovered How telomeres and telomerase protect chromosomes, and through research, they learned that simply measuring telomere length can predict people's chances of suffering from heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases, as well as measure people's current overall health condition and aging."
"Not only that, the telomerase inhibitor produced according to their discovery can fight cancer, while the telomerase activator can fight aging, and the former has already appeared in 1990, as for the latter, there is no any discovery."
"Telomere shortening is a result of programmed aging, and telomerase does indeed lengthen telomeres as far as possible, however, during the course of the study they found that not all cells express telomerase."
“Telomerase in stem cells and germ cells has high activity, while telomerase in most other cells has almost no activity, so if you want to achieve the goal of anti-aging immortality, you must first solve this problem…”
When James eloquently explained the situation to his family in common language, the three young ones and the two big ones were all staring at each other. No one understood what James was talking about, but they found their own understanding. After he couldn't keep up with his son's words, David slapped his hands and said, "Speak human!"
"Ah... good..." James, who was suffering from pain, came back to his senses. After discovering that his three younger sisters were hardworking and his parents were stunned, he immediately understood that the generation gap of the times was as deep as the Mariana Trench.
"To put it simply, the telomerase discovered by Professor Carroll may indeed be a road to immortality, but so far, no one has been able to see the door to the road. A biopharmaceutical company was selling research in this area to the capital, so Professor Carroll, who felt strange, went to investigate the research project of this company, and was told by them to...how to put it? Anyway, I think It seems that their development ideas are correct?"
“Since the professors think it’s right, this company must be valuable, but the problem is that the topic of anti-aging cannot be solved in a day or two. After burning out the research funds, they will have no money.”
"So they took over the outsourcing of GlaxoSmithKline and made a profit of 1.3 million."
"And raised another $250 million in a stock offering in 1996 for a drug to treat an eye infection called cytomegalovirus retinitis in people with AIDS."
“Even so, they ended up spending all the money they raised.”
“Now, they’re going to give it a go and want to buy a company that does the same kind of research.”
"but-"
"They have no money."
"Ah..." David understood.
Isn’t this special thing the most common thing for startups, telling stories?
When all start-up companies raise funds, their valuation of the company is not based on the value of the company itself, but on how the founder of the company draws cakes for outside investors. As long as the cakes are big enough and attractive enough, they will Can get investment.
After getting the investment, you can still make cakes.
As long as the public and investors believe, then the founder of this company will not be Jia Yueting who will return to China next week.
Not only that, the biopharmaceutical field that James is now talking about is a place where it is very difficult to produce results. It is really normal to lose money, and it is extremely common to continue financing without money.
If you switch to other fields and have not made a profit for many years, then David will pass directly, but now—
Since my son's professor thinks it's good, why don't you listen to it?
Thinking of this, David asked: "What company? Where is it? After Christmas, I'll go and see it?"
The short question made James laugh.
"This company is in California, and it cooperates with the professor's mentor, and the name—"
"Gilead."
...
Gilead, founded in 1987, is a research-based biopharmaceutical company.
In the first five years of its establishment, there was no income. It was all based on the two million dollars raised in 1988, the 10 million dollars raised in 1989, the 40 million dollars raised in 1991, and the 8600 dollars raised in 1992. Live on millions of dollars.
Like all biopharmaceutical companies, during this period, all they sold were concepts.
Contain AIDS, solve many complications of AIDS patients, live forever...
These are big pies they draw for investors.
Not only that, they also approached Warren Buffett in 1988, wanting to find investment from Berkshire Hathaway, but the old man refused, so they went it alone.
Since Gilead's vaunted elixir was based on extended research based on the discovery of telomerase, the company was quickly acquired by the three discoverers of telomerase, Jack Szostak, Elizabeth Blackburn, and Rolle-Grade paid attention, and after discovering that Gilead's research ideas coincided with theirs, the two parties had very close contacts.
But this kind of close visit will not bring any results for a while, so after spending the research funds, Gilead issued shares in 1995 to raise 94 million, and in 1996, continued 160 million was raised.
And yet... after two years, the money ran out again.
In eleven years, 392 million yuan was burned, but the medicines produced were as rotten as a pile of shit!
After seeing such a research report, David even wondered if his son's mentor, Carol Grad, found out that the company's research funds were gone, so he wanted his son to cheat investment from himself and Roland.
After all, the whole world knows that David Olsen is rich, and Roland Allen is the major shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway!
But after thinking about it, David felt that the possibility was unlikely.
Because James’ mentor, Carol Grad, has not officially joined Gilead. She is a professor at JHU, and she already enjoys the subsidy of the special research fund of the country, so she can’t make money from herself.
Ever since, David, who didn't want to vote after reading the financial report, but couldn't refuse because of the identity of the other party, kicked the ball to Roland. He even brought himself a pharmaceutical company, and then he ended his vacation. When he returned to New York to film, he almost jumped up in front of the crew!
"Wait!" Roland raised his volume excitedly.
"David! Say it again! What's the name of that company?"
"Is it really called Gilead?"
"The Gilead that loses money every year and never makes a profit?"
Note: ①Gilead really approached Warren Buffett at the beginning, which was acknowledged by both parties. ②Gilead's first big pie for investors is indeed immortality, and the research direction is indeed telomerase. ③The three people who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for 'discovering how telomeres and telomerase protect chromosomes' are indeed Gilead R&D professors, among whom Jack Szostak is a permanent resident. ④As for why Gilead made this thing before telomerase was hyped, it was because his master of medicine was read at Johns-Hopkins, and then went to Harvard Medical School. The former is Gilead's partner school, the latter is the place where Gilead founder Michael Raodan met Jack Szostak. Jack Szostak taught at Harvard and they knew each other when they were students. ⑤ James Olsen went to Johns Hopkins to study before writing.
(end of this chapter)