Reiwa Chemist Yōko Takatsukasa Reincarnation: Saving Japan with Plastic Material

Birds Will Peck at Insects Within a Lion's Territory

In the initial plot, the MC was supposed to be more prominent, but when I finished writing the story, Dad Hiromichi took it all.

- Toshitsugu Utei

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Siblings Nobusuke and Yōko started an experiment to induce an 'anomaly like beriberi' in chickens. Since there had already been a previous study, this was a follow-up to that, making it not that difficult to do. Three weeks after the start of the experiment, some of the chickens fed only white rice were unable to walk properly. On the other hand, the chickens fed only brown rice were healthy.

"Let's select one of the chickens with the most severe symptoms and have Father's unit bring it in for observation and autopsy by military doctors."

At Yōko's suggestion, one of the dying chickens was brought to the division where Hiromichi was stationed. The military doctor who was given that chicken to examine was at first puzzled.

"The symptoms of the chicken were exactly those of beriberi. The autopsy results showed multiple neuritis and enlargement of the heart, which cannot be interpreted in any way to mean that the disease was unrelated to beriberi," he concluded.

It was not until 1910 that such an announcement was made in OTL Japan.

. . .

That weekend, the military doctor, at Hiromichi's request, explained his diagnosis of the chicken to Nobusuke and Yōko.

"After all, as my sister had predicted, the chicken has leprosy."

"Technically, they are different diseases, but at least they are certainly closer than cowpox and smallpox."

It was a well-known fact even in this era that inoculation of humans with pus generated by cowpox provides immunity against smallpox. The fact that he cited this as a reason for his decision means that this military doctor, like Yōko, believed that it is possible to prevent and treat beriberi in humans by improving their diet.

"Then, with these results, if you could add the rice-bran paste to the wartime military diet..."

"It is still possible at this time to pickle rice bran in the wartime soldier's diet."

"Really!?"

"The current regulation is 900 grams of white rice, 150 grams of meat, or fish, 150 grams of vegetables, and 56 grams of pickles per day, so we can serve pickles."

Yōko was surprised at the military doctor's reply because if they served pickles, she could not understand why they can develop beriberi.

"However, it seems that during the Sino-Japanese War and the conquest of Taiwan, only white rice was provided as proper wartime soldier food due to supply disruptions. I believe, like the two of you, that leprosy can be prevented and treated by improving diet."

"Ah, thank goodness..."

Yōko was relieved. If the measures taken to this point were to turn out to be wrong, it would be a big deal.

"In fact, we at the field wanted to suppress beriberi at all costs. However, since we had the preconceived notion that 'beriberi can be improved with barley rice,' we thought only of adding barley rice to the wartime diet, and we were vehemently opposed by Surgeon Generals Mori and Ishiguro who had recently been appointed to the reserves..."

"I don't think it can be helped. As long as the cause of lethargy was unknown, the only way to treat it was to rely on existing experience. In this case, we were able to do it because we used a chicken, but we can't do the same thing to a human being."