- The film "Awakening of the Alien" film
first appeared to be a popcorn movie, but when you think about the name of the movie, Life, from From the perspective of biological philosophy, there is a new understanding. The theme has been sublimated because of the title.
This commentary is mainly from the perspective of a scientific worker, from the perspective of technology and scientific awe. First, explain the author’s background. He is a Ph.D. student in microbiology and immunology at the top medical science research institution in the United States, has nearly two years of work experience in a domestic biosafety secondary laboratory, and has received biosafety tertiary laboratory animal experiment training (highly pathogenic avian influenza reference experiment) Laboratory) and biosafety level four laboratory safety education.
For the horror rendering of science fiction films, this is a plot need. First, analyze the possibility in reality from the technical level. Generally, this kind of soil samples from outer space need to be sealed first, and they are operated in an environment that the earth can control. It is generally impossible to conduct direct cell culture experiments directly on the outer space station (the technical level is not enough). Moreover, the practice of black British scientists in the film "resurrecting" biological cells from outer space by heating up requires layers of authorization and approval to operate. So these two points basically prevented the emergence of this terrifying alien creature at the source.
The film says that Kevin and Bacillus anthracis are equivalent, and Bacillus anthracis is to be operated in a biosafety third-level laboratory (BSL-3). Generally pathogenic microorganisms with respiratory transmission ability (such as highly pathogenic avian influenza virus animal infection experiments) need to be operated under BSL-3 level conditions. For highly infectious pathogens (such as Ebola virus), they must be operated in BSL-4, which is the highest level of biosafety level 4 laboratories. Even the "notorious" pathogens such as AIDS, hepatitis B and Zika dengue fever only need to be operated at the level of BSL-2. Think about how high the level of biosafety is to operate this unknown organism in outer space.
According to the author’s work experience, there must be at least two people in the BSL-3 experiment first to prevent accidents, not the scientists in the film alone; the BSL-3 laboratory is under negative pressure ventilation, and air can only enter but not exit. It is possible to design vents like the one in the film to allow aliens to escape; the operator needs to wear 3M industrial filtration grade masks and a full set of protective clothing (BSL-4 needs to wear ventilation protection equipment like a "space suit"), so no It is very likely to cause serious personal injury like this; BSL-3 has strict sealing and disinfection facilities, unlike the film, which does not even have ultraviolet disinfection lamps; finally, BSL-3 has complete sealing and isolation regulations, and it is absolutely impossible to be like the film. In this way, go in and out at will to rescue the scientist who was attacked.
Therefore, the cost of high-level biosafety laboratories is in the tens of millions, and the cost of an autoclave can be in the millions.
To sum up, the scenes in the film are under tight protection, and are generally unlikely to happen, so there is no need to panic too much. But the theme of this movie goes far beyond the technical level.
What is the nature of living things? It is survival, so what is the performance of survival? It's killing. It's just that we humans are at the top of the relatively speaking biological chain, so we appear to be "civilized". Of course, this alien creature of Kevin is indeed beyond the understanding of all life we know now. For example, its super learning and memory ability can no longer be explained by the existing neurological and cognitive sciences. So I think this movie is more like an "apocalyptic movie" (a lot of excellent zombie apocalyptic movies are like this), it repeatedly asks this human being to explore the world and his own desires, once this Pandora's box is opened , What will it look like?
Human beings have been able to synthesize yeast chromosomes, and "gene editing" technology has matured, and it has begun to have the ability to "modify life" and "synthesize life". Will it create "super monsters"? "Cell" magazine reported that "human-pig chimera embryo", is it possible to spread the swine virus to humans across species? Revealing the control of the mouse "bite" nerve switch, will it be a realistic prelude to the "zombie"? Imagine that humans have been able to "save the virus" (build live virus particles through reverse genetic methods), and greatly enhance virus virulence through structural mutations of the virus under laboratory conditions; extensive field development and international trade are also new developments. The risk of infectious diseases has greatly increased. We are facing an increasingly open world and an earth with increasing health risks.
So today's science fiction movies and today's technological progress are not far away. Behind all the rules and regulations of scientific research, there must be bloody lessons. Since human beings' desire for exploration can never be satisfied, perhaps these rigorous or even harsh things may be the last barrier that guards Pandora's Box.
What needs to be pointed out is that the theme of "life" is everywhere in this movie. The Japanese scientist’s child falling to the ground and Kevin’s recovery are both the "beginning" of life; and Kevin’s survival is accompanied by the killing of one life after another. The innocent child asked, "Will you bring the aliens back?" It expresses the kindness of human beings, but is this kindness really correct or safe? I think I have my own answer.
In the film, the astronaut's high degree of responsibility and the courage to sacrifice themselves are indeed worthy of moving. This is also the most touching part of scientific research. We always have to know ourselves and the world, and this group of people are also the cutest people.
View more about Life reviews
