Category: Gold
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Big Page of Hazel
The oldest confirmed hazel species is Corylus johnsonii found as fossils in the Ypresian-age rocks of Ferry County, Washington, USA
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Zinc, maybe
No proof for the need of zinc in human cells was shown until the late 1930s. More than most ever wanted to know about zinc. A work in progress.
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Cyanamide notes (it was a polio vaccine that spurred these notes and by now polio has five mentions on the page and these are two of them)
I’m going to add some polio vaccine stuff at the top of these notes. Hilary Koprowski is the one mentioned on the Polio Hall of Fame page who was not included in the hideous monument, see What In God’s Name, even though he (and his work) have direct connection to those who are included. He…
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Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects
Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects, such as the larvae of Bombyx mori, and other moth genera such as Antheraea, Cricula, Samia and Gonometa. Silk in its raw state consists of two main proteins, sericin and fibroin, with a glue-like layer of sericin coating two singular filaments of fibroin called brins. BRIN AND BAVE (BRIN) One of the radiating sticks of a fan.…
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Biomining or what I suspect “healthcare” (and much of the “food” industry) has been up to for a very, very long time
Biomining is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using prokaryotes, fungi or plants (phytoextraction also known as phytomining or biomining). These organisms secrete different organic compounds that chelate metals from the environment and bring it back to the cell where they are typically used to coordinate electrons. It was discovered in the mid 1900s that microorganisms…
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Langgan 琅玕 is the ancient Chinese name of a gemstone which remains an enigma in the history of mineralogy; it has been identified, variously, as blue-green malachite, blue coral, white coral, whitish chalcedony, red spinel, and red jade
It is also the name of a mythological langgan tree of immortality found in the western paradise of Kunlun Mountain, and the name of the classic waidan alchemical elixir of immortality langgan huadan 琅玕華丹 “Elixir Efflorescence of Langgan”. Waidan, translated as ‘external alchemy‘ or ‘external elixir‘, is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances…
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In Chinese alchemy, elixir poisoning refers to the toxic effects from elixirs of immortality that contained metals and minerals such as mercury and arsenic
In Chinese alchemy, elixir poisoning refers to the toxic effects from elixirs of immortality that contained metals and minerals such as mercury and arsenic. The official Twenty-Four Histories record numerous Chinese emperors, nobles, and officials who died from taking elixirs to prolong their lifespans. The first emperor to die from elixir poisoning was likely Qin Shi Huang (d. 210 BCE) and the last was the Yongzheng Emperor (d. 1735 CE). Despite common knowledge…
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Cold-Food Powder or Five Minerals Powder, poisonous psychoactive drug popular during the Six Dynasties (220–589) and Tang dynasty (618–907)
Cold-Food Powder (Chinese: 寒食散; pinyin: hánshísǎn; Wade–Giles: han-shih-san) or Five Minerals Powder (Chinese: 五石散; pinyin: wǔshísǎn; Wade–Giles: wu-shih-san) was a poisonous psychoactive drug popular during the Six Dynasties (220–589) and Tang dynasty (618–907) periods of China. Terminology Both Chinese names hanshisan and wushisan have the suffix -san (散, lit. “fall apart; scattered”), which means “medicine in powdered form” in Traditional Chinese medicine. Wushi (lit. “five rock”) refers to the component mineral drugs, typically: fluorite, quartz, red bole clay, stalactite, and sulfur. Hanshi (lit. “cold food”) refers to eating cold foods and bathing in cold water…
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Kaustubha, divine ruby or gem in Hindu mythology
Kaustubha (Sanskrit: कौस्तुभ, romanized: Kaustubha, lit. ‘crest jewel’) is a divine ruby or ratnam (gem) in Hindu mythology.[1] This gem is in the possession of Vishnu, granting him the epithet of Kaustubhadhari. It is believed in Hindu scriptures to be the most magnificent ratnam in all of creation, at the time of the churning of the ocean, and acts as a symbol of divine authority.[2] Legend In Hindu mythology, the devas and the asuras performed…
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Halāhala or kālakūṭa poison
Halāhala (Sanskrit हलाहल) or kālakūṭa (Sanskrit कालकूटं, literally: ‘black mass’ or ‘time puzzle’[1]) is the name of a poison in Hindu mythology. It was created from the Ocean of Milk when the devas and the asuras churned it (see Samudra Manthana) in order to obtain amrita, the nectar of immortality. Fourteen different ratnas (treasures) were recovered from this episode, which were distributed between the two clans. But before the amrita could be formed,…
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Kodoku: The Venomous Vortex of Ancient Curses
Here’s one that might make your skin crawl and your blood run cold! Welcome to the world of Kodoku, the sinister sorcery that turns creepy crawlies into catastrophic curses! Imagine, if you dare, a jar teeming with nature’s most venomous vermin – scorpions, centipedes, and snakes, oh my! But this is no petting zoo, my…
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Gu: The Venomous Vortex of Ancient Chinese Sorcery
Here is another that may make your skin crawl and your blood run cold! Welcome to the world of Gu, the sinister sorcery that turns creepy crawlies into catastrophic curses! Picture, if you dare, a jar teeming with nature’s most venomous vermin – centipedes, snakes, and scorpions, oh my! But this is no petting zoo,…
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Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese
The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimum of 52 percent nickel.) Despite its high copper content, cupronickel is silver in colour. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion by salt water, and is therefore used for piping, heat exchangers and condensers in seawater systems, as well as for…
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Proline and a few other notes
Proline (symbol Pro or P) is an organic acid classed as a proteinogenic amino acid (used in the biosynthesis of proteins), although it does not contain the amino group -NH2 but is rather a secondary amine. The secondary amine nitrogen is in the protonated form (NH2+) under biological conditions, while the carboxyl group is in the deprotonated −COO− form. The “side chain” from the α carbon connects to the nitrogen forming a pyrrolidine loop, classifying it…
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Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin
Leu-enkephalin is an endogenous opioid peptide neurotransmitter with the amino acid sequence Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu that is found naturally in the brains of many animals, including humans. It is one of the two forms of enkephalin; the other is met-enkephalin. The tyrosine residue at position 1 is thought to be analogous to the 3-hydroxyl group on morphine. Leu-enkephalin has agonistic actions at both the μ- and δ-opioid receptors, with significantly greater preference for the…
