Wei Boyang Gold

702 Words2 Pages

Since at least the Han dynasty, gold has been seen as an extremely valuable and beautiful metal possessing incredible properties. So incredible are these characteristics that ancient Chinese author Wei Boyang wrote, “Gold is the most valuable thing in all the world because it is immortal and never gets rotten. Alchemists eat it, and they enjoy longevity (How Doctors, 2014).” Due to modern chemistry and technology, Wei has been proven correct, albeit in a slightly different way than he imagined. Studies out of Rice University and the MD Anderson Cancer Center have recently pioneered new cancer treatment involving gold nanoparticles and wavelength absorption. Gold has long been used within the human body for many surgical treatments. Due to the chemical nature of gold, it does not readily react with other compounds inside the human body and is not damaging to the surrounding cells. Furthermore, it will not corrode or break down because it does not interact with oxygen. This allows scientists to implant gold nanoparticles within cancerous cells in preparation for treatment. After injecting the nanoparticles, which are smaller than a red blood cell, they begin to accumulate within the rapidly-growing cancer cell, where they wait until further treatment. Prior to implanting the …show more content…

This idea is derived from the use of gold as a currency; something that could corrupt a man. When preaching to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, Moses states “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. (Deut. 15:11, ESV).” Moses clearly commands all those under the Lord to give and provide for those in need in any way possible. It is truly amazing how something such as gold, which was a sign of greed and selfishness, is now being given to the needy in a way that can potentially save their

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