#human ingenuity

[steampunktendencies]

A Man Who Lost Four Fingers Has Built Highly Articulated Prosthetic Fingers, All Controlled By Wrist Movements.

Engineer Ian Davis built his own mechanical prosthetic when his medical insurance did not cover the cost. His prosthetic functions without batteries or electricity. In early 2019, Davis lost four digits on his left hand due to a work accident, prompting him to create the prosthetic

[foldingfittedsheets]

When my mom was growing up she lived downtown in a city, but her home abutted a golf course. She and her siblings would sneak through a hole in the fence that they definitely made. They’d wade into the pond and water traps after hours and take away buckets of filthy muddy algae covered balls.

They’d take them home and clean them up until they were shining and white again. Then they’d trek out to the entrance of the course the next day and sell them back to golfers for a little cheaper than they could buy balls elsewhere.

I was utterly delighted by this story as a kid myself, relishing that my mom and her siblings were duping the golfers into buying back their own balls. But as an adult it’s like- of course. No one else was gonna wade into the muck for them anyway, everyone wins.

[verushkak70]

Tu Youyou (born in 1930), a Chinese malariologist and pharmaceutical chemist, won the 2015 Nobel Prize for discovering artemisinin (also known as qīnghāosù, 青蒿素) and dihydroartemisinin - both used to treat malaria - saving millions of lives in South China, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.

She read historical Chinese medical classics and visited traditional Chinese medicine practitioners all over the country on her own to research plants that might work against malaria. Her final research included 640 compounds.

She found that sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) was "particularly effective" (it had traditionally been used for used for "intermittent fevers," a major symptom of malaria). She also used a 1,600-year-old traditional Chinese herbal medicine text to figure out that heat extraction was not effective, but cold extraction was. She headed the team that researched use of artemisinin

Although artemisinin can no longer be used alone to treat malaria due to the risk of Plasmodium falciparum (the protozoan parasite that causes malaria) developing resistance to the drug, it is still used worldwide to treat malaria, in combination with other antimalarial drugs.

Tu Youyou also was the first test subject of the final drug. "As head of this research group, I had the responsibility," she said. She had no bad reactions, so she conducted successful clinical trials with human patients.

I don't get why her and her team's work was published anonymously in 1977 - maybe because there was a whole team involved, that she headed. But she presented the findings at a WHO conference in 1981.

Although the work was published in 1977 and presented in 1981, she didn't get the Nobel Prize until 2015. That may be a pretty standard delay in scientific achievement recognition, because it sometimes takes decades for the scope and impact of a scientific discovery to become obvious.

Her father named her Youyou, "adapted it from the sentence 呦呦鹿鳴, 食野之蒿[3] translated as "Deer bleat youyou while eating wild Hao". Hao is the genus artemisia, which includes Artemisia annua - sweet wormwood, from which Tu Youyou's team extracted the drug artemisinin.

Now that is an interesting coincidence, isn't it. Spooky.

A woman of science went to ancient traditional Chinese medicine classic texts to find a lifesaving treatment for malaria.

I think we should all be impressed by her - and by what the traditional practitioners already knew and had written more than 1,000 years before.

Humanity is amazing. Women of science are incredible.

[heavenlyshadow]

Another thing AI has ruined: The genuine feats of creativity/absurdity that people and animals could actually do.

I miss simply enjoying videos of huskies saying 'I love you' and Chad doing parkour without wondering if it's AI or not

[wallpapersmonster]

Epic Spacecraft in Orbit 🚀

Hey there, space enthusiasts! 🌌✨ Are you ready to embark on an interstellar adventure? Check out our latest creation: Epic Spacecraft in Orbit! This wallpaper showcases a stunningly intricate spacecraft, soaring majestically through the cosmos. It's not just a visual treat; it’s a celebration of human ingenuity and imagination!

Imagine the vastness of space, the twinkling stars, and the thrill of exploration—all captured in one epic image. Whether you're a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, or just love the idea of space travel, this wallpaper is sure to ignite your imagination! 🌠

Perfect for your desktop or mobile background, it’ll transport you to a world where anything is possible. So why wait? Bring the cosmos to your screen and let your dreams take flight!

👉 Ready to experience this? Explore the wonders of space with our Epic Spacecraft in Orbit wallpaper!

Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more cosmic creations from us!

Happy exploring! 🌌💫

[pratchettquotes]

Much human ingenuity has gone into finding the ultimate Before.

The current state of knowledge can be summarized thus:

In the beginning, there was nothing, which exploded.

Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies

[enbycrip]

[swamp-milkweed]

jarod k. anderson, from "candle facts #2," in field guide to the haunted forest