1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you Should Know 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: from house Stuff Works dot com? Hey, and welcome to 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, 5 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: and this is stuff you should know from our beloved website, 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com. That's right, we work for 7 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: a website. And did you know that? Yeah? You know, 8 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: when people ask me what I do, like, I don't know. 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: I met some friend Emily t other day and she's like, 10 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:37,639 Speaker 1: what do you do? I always just say I work 11 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: for a website, and the when it starts in on stuff, 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: I'm just like, yeah, I just I work for a website. Jo. 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: It's just easy that way. Not only do you work 14 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: for it, you are the website. Is what you should say. 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,200 Speaker 1: I have lobbied for Chuck how Chuck works dot com. 16 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: But people would sign on to that. Man. Uh yeah, 17 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: this would have been a much better way to start 18 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: out the future of the Internet one huh. Probably. So 19 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: instead of we're gonna go back way back, Chuck back 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: in time? Um? Is that Huey Lewis sort of He's 21 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: playing Tomorrow Night or tonight where I think he's doing Chastain, 22 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,479 Speaker 1: He's doing like you know, the Memphis uh Stacks Music, 23 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: Memphis Soul Show, what along with your favorite Huey Lewis classics? 24 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:27,479 Speaker 1: What I did not know this? How did you not 25 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,800 Speaker 1: tell me this? I didn't know? Would you be seriously 26 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: want to go? I would totally go see Huey Lewis. Dude, 27 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: have you ever heard Sports? Yeah? I had Sports when 28 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: I was one of the greatest albums ever released. It 29 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: was one of the top albums of that year. From 30 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: beginning to finished, that was a great album. Anyway, Yes, 31 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: I would see Huey Lewis, and now I figured out 32 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: how to get there in a few hours. I don't 33 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: know if it's tonight, but I heard a promo for 34 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: it today on the radio, so it's good, good, good 35 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: to know. Um, well, Chuck, we're gonna go even further 36 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: back than the height of Huey Lewis's career. We're gonna 37 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: go several thousand years before that. Okay, Now we'll go 38 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: back to about the height of Hughey Lewis's career, maybe 39 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: a little before it. When I was a young lad 40 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: and I was watching TV. Remember those time life books 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: that we talked about here there. So there was one 42 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: set that, um it was like Mysteries of Mankind or 43 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: Mysteries of History or something like that, and I remember 44 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: clearly it said how could ancient civilizations perform brain surgery? 45 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: And patients survived? And there's this kind of like did 46 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: almost caveman looking guy like with like a scar on 47 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: his head and he looked at the camera like, yeah, 48 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: I'm still alive, but it hurts, you know. I saw 49 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: that and I went it just captured me. Right. Well, 50 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: I came to find out that that was a real thing, 51 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: and that, apart from a lot of the stuff you 52 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,079 Speaker 1: find in time life books, it was correct. There's such 53 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: a thing as trep a nation and people actually did 54 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: survive it. Talk about this in the lobotomies. I think 55 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: so because I know we had we had to of 56 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: But trepid nation has been around as a surgical procedure. 57 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: It's brain surgery in that the brain is affected by it. 58 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 1: Sometimes they went in and poked around, but for the 59 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: most part it was just cutting away a piece of 60 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: the skull in the scalp to relieve pressure on the brain. Yeah, right, 61 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: And they did the same thing in a much more 62 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: sophisticated way these days, for like swelling of the brain. Right, 63 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: and some traditional societies still carry out trepid nation today. Yeah, 64 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: but um, as I said, it was successful, some um 65 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: Andian cultures showed evidence of like at success rate, which 66 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,119 Speaker 1: is pretty good as far as I know, right, not bad. 67 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: But this is a really ancient procedure. This is um Neolithic, right, 68 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: seven thousand and two thousand BC. That's a long time ago. Yeah, 69 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: that's like, uh four to nine thousand years ago. And 70 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: if you think about that to nine thousand years ago, 71 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: if they could successfully seventy percent of the time they 72 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: could successfully open your skull up, well they that with 73 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: a hundred percent successful Yeah, but you could remove your 74 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: heart hundred percent success. Right. But um, so trepid nation 75 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: is this ancient form of surgery. And about the same time, 76 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: probably people started figuring out that not only could they 77 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: perform surgery, but if they wanted to, they could hang 78 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,599 Speaker 1: their shingle out and practice medicine if they knew what 79 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: they were talking about with plants, right, that's right. So 80 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 1: for a long time we suspect UH indigenous groups uh 81 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: had some sort of idea understanding about what plants were, 82 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: what what plants could be used for. That's right. But 83 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: then about there is this explosion, right, yes, this was 84 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: after the ancient Egyptians and pharaohs poked around and the 85 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: Sumerians with medicinal plants, um, China, Africa and India, that's 86 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: what it really exploded. And they actually I started to 87 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: list these things and put them down on paper or 88 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: whatever they were using at the time, to to papyrus. Well, 89 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: in Egypt and ken I, if you want to be technical, 90 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 1: there's a papyrus that's um dated to fifteen fifty three 91 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: BC that lists seven different drugs, a lot of which 92 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: are plant based, probably almost all. Yeah, I would say, 93 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,039 Speaker 1: so they weren't doing synthetic chemical spect they know. But 94 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: about the same time, like you said, in Africa and 95 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: India and China, like all these people started just jotting 96 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: down their understandings of plants. And it was extensive, right yeah, 97 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: like rub this on your sore that and it will 98 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: ease your pain and suffering exactly, you know, so we 99 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: should write that down. A lot of trial and error, 100 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: I imagine, isn't that shacks line from that icy hot 101 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:53,839 Speaker 1: and rubbed this there and it'll ease your pain. Um. So, 102 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: so these these this understanding, this knowledge was like added 103 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: to and subtracted from, you know, over the course of 104 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: centuries and in millennia, and then about like the nineteenth century, 105 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: there is like a sharp divergence, right, yes, Josh, that 106 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:14,359 Speaker 1: is when uh, in the first edition of the American Pharmacopeia, 107 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:20,679 Speaker 1: early hundreds um drugs at the time we're s plant 108 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: based flashboard nineteen sixty only five point three were plant based. 109 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: So what happens is you've introduced people that could figure 110 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: out how to synthetically duplicate a lot of these plants. 111 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: So are they still plant based? Does that even count? 112 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: After a while? I think it's kind of like you 113 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,840 Speaker 1: know how people say, like this is made with um 114 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: our our product not tested on animals. That's because it 115 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 1: uses stuff that's that was tested on animals thirty years 116 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: ago and found safe, so no longer. Yes, So I 117 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: think it's much the same way where once you synthesize 118 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: something enough for you know, a synthetic alkaloid has this effect, 119 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: you can use it in all these different ways with 120 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: something else that makes sense. So that was a that 121 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: represented a real separation from uh, the West and traditional cultures. Right. 122 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: This medicinal rift is what I just called it, So 123 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: kind of like medicinal rifts um as our understanding of 124 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: chemistry and the effects of drugs on the body groove. 125 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: Then you know, we we just kind of diverged from 126 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: traditional societies. But there came to be an awareness at 127 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: some point in time that all of these rainforests that 128 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: were destroying, in all of the uncontacted tribes that were 129 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: running out, um have a wealth of information that wasn't 130 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:45,559 Speaker 1: listed in these early pharmacopias. Right, Sure that there's a 131 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 1: bunch of understanding of how to cure all sorts of 132 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: diseases out there, and we kind of need it. So 133 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: out of that has grown this whole field the sub 134 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: discipline of anthropology called ethnobotany. Yeah, what was the Connery movie? 135 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: They were searching for the cure for cancer in the 136 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: jungle Rangoon beyond Rangoon. No, that was Rangoon man. No, 137 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: I can't remember the attack of theo. It was the 138 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: lady from the Sopranos and Good Fellas and then Sean 139 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: Connery and he they were in the jungle, I think 140 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,480 Speaker 1: searching for a cure for cancer or something. Good movie. 141 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: But that's that's the point though, is that the cure 142 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: for cancer maybe out there in some leaf that we 143 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: just need to locate and synthesize. Right. The problem is 144 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: is like the field of ethnobotany isn't training people to 145 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: go out and eat leaves and write down their thoughts 146 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: on it. No, you got I guess they're interviewing people 147 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: local tribesmen, indigenous folks and saying, hey, tell us what 148 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: you know about medicine. Maybe we can learn something from that. 149 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: And this is a very very long process. So like, uh, 150 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:53,679 Speaker 1: the and ethnobotanist is probably going to be somebody who 151 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: was trained as a botanist and undergraduate school and then 152 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: trained in um anthropology, linkinguistics, UM possibly chemistry in grad school. 153 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: Got to be a people person. You have to be 154 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: able to chat it up with the possible head shrinkers 155 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: UM and you go out in the field and you 156 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: have to gain the trust of the people who have 157 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: this information. It might not be common to the whole 158 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: tribe UM. So you have to gain the trust of 159 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: the person who knows what plant to use for what, 160 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,440 Speaker 1: and then get that information from them in a way 161 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: that's agreeable. There's a debate among ethnobotany that's pretty much 162 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: resolved these days, but for a long time that end 163 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: justified the means, like if you could cure athletes foot, 164 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: you know, with this plant, and this guy doesn't want 165 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: to give it to you, don't you have a moral 166 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: obligation to basically take that information from him, steal it 167 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: as it were. Now there's a movement toward making sure 168 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: that these people are like their trust isn't broken, that 169 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 1: they're willing to share it, and if they're not willing 170 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: to share it, you pay them, pay them money, pay 171 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,640 Speaker 1: pay them either way. Compensation is is kind of becoming 172 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: a more of a thing among ethnobotanists rather than thank you, 173 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: you've done something great here bringing the trucks. Yeah. Well, 174 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: not only just what the plant is though, but obviously 175 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: they need specifics. They need to know what part of 176 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,920 Speaker 1: the plant because you know, I wrote that article a 177 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: while back on how you can I think the universal 178 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: edibility test. You know some parts of a plant, like 179 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 1: eat the leaf and you can sustain on it. Eat 180 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: the root and you die in ten seconds. So what 181 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 1: part of the plant, how much of it to use um, 182 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: which would essentially be the prescription, right, And so the 183 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,600 Speaker 1: ethnobotanist finds the stuff out, takes it back to the 184 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: synthetic chemist, who basically has to go over the you know, 185 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: hopefully the ethnobotanist is like, it's the leaves, just focused 186 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: on the leaves rather than you know, having to do 187 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: this on the plant and the stems and the seeds 188 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:50,960 Speaker 1: or the flowers or whatever. But a crazy job. Imagine 189 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: how difficult that is. It is very difficult to synthesize 190 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: something like that. Well, first they have to isolate it. 191 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,800 Speaker 1: They gotta find out because you know, the local shame 192 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: isn't He's not gonna be like, well, it's this alkaloid 193 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: in there that's um, you know, going to really get 194 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 1: you off, um healing you exactly. Um, it's the it's 195 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: the synthetic chemist who isolates the active ingredient and then 196 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: figures out if they can put together a synthetic version 197 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: of it. Because one way to get medicine from plants 198 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: is simple extraction, right, But that's not the most reliable now, 199 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: because you can extract uh, let's say the essential oils 200 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: from one one bit and it might be like really 201 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: really potent, and another bit might not be so it's 202 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: not like it's not consistent across the board, right, And 203 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: if one bit makes it into one jar of that 204 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: stuff and the other bit makes it into one, somebody 205 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: who's in pain is not going to get any relief. 206 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: The other person is going to die because they're gonna 207 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: get like eighty times that feel really really good depending 208 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: on what happens. Um So syn synthesis is the artificial 209 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: synthesis is the um preferred means of of figuring out 210 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: how to make a reasonable fact simile of this what's 211 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,920 Speaker 1: in the plant. You're trying to mimic the compounds. And 212 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: I'm like, if you make it and it's the same thing, 213 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: it has the same molecular structure as what's found in 214 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: the plant, but you made it in the lab, it's 215 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:23,959 Speaker 1: still the same thing. Right. It's like a test tube baby, 216 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,920 Speaker 1: Like you're the baby is still a real human. This 217 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: is still a real compound. I guess on a molecular level, sure, 218 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,440 Speaker 1: But yeah, I don't know. That's a good question. I 219 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: thought that somebody much smarter than us probably is like, oh, boys, 220 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: I'll send you an email. I'll let you know. I'm 221 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 1: looking forward to that one. I have to say, um, 222 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: and cheapness is the other reasons. Yes, Well, it's cheaper 223 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,079 Speaker 1: to synthesize something once you figure it out. I'm sure 224 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 1: it's a very long, expensive process, but once you figure 225 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: it out, you're like, has put a couple of hydrogens 226 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: in with that helium and want to stand back? Yeah, 227 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 1: and and better for the environment to like, if something 228 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: has to stay plant based, you're gonna need a lot 229 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: of that plant That's true, you know what I'm saying. 230 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,080 Speaker 1: So we have a lot of success stories in UM 231 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: synthesizing drugs from plants. Right. Quinine a part of one 232 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: of my favorite drinks, Gin and tonic. You know it. 233 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: Quinine is pretty across the board, a pretty awesome thing, 234 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: I guess. Yeah, that's why tonic water is called tonic 235 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: water because it has quinine in it and it's a 236 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: tonic for malaria. Yeah, it's very small amount, but I 237 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: guess it gives it that signature taste. And don't go 238 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: with the diet. It's awful. There's a diet tonic it's 239 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,680 Speaker 1: not very good. You know, I taste that is super better. 240 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: Remember we when we did the how taste works article, 241 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: I figured out that I am a super taster of bitterness, 242 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 1: like I can barely tolerate tonic water. It's so bitter. 243 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: Really yeah, interesting campari, don't even get me started. But 244 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: sometimes I torture myself and just have some anyway, And 245 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: tonic I've never mixed with explode. So quinine is used 246 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,720 Speaker 1: to treat malaria based on the chinchona bark. Then you got, 247 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: let's say, another example, dioxin. I'm sorry, dioxin treating heart conditions. 248 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,600 Speaker 1: And that comes from the lovely fox glove. The lovely, 249 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: lovely fox glove that you grow in your garden. We 250 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: do grow it in my garden. Although my fox glove 251 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,200 Speaker 1: is dead right now. It's kind of depressing. Yes, it 252 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: is very dead. Oh no, I'm in depressing. Yeah, of 253 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: course I look at dead plants. Why are you not 254 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,280 Speaker 1: watering it frequiently? No, I don't know what the deal 255 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: was with the fox glove. It might not have transplanted 256 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: it soon enough, or it might not do well in 257 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:45,720 Speaker 1: a hundred and tin heat index heat um sort of shady. 258 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: Emily is the gardener. I'm just the gardener's assistant. The 259 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: heavy lifter. Another great example that you listed. This is 260 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: your article, right, yeah, okay, is morphine. Yeah, the alkaloid 261 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: from poppy plan It was synthesized into diacetal morphine and 262 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: sold commercially by Bear for twelve years as heroin. Yeah, 263 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: that's where heroin came from, called heroin. I'm just gonna 264 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: go to the drug store and get some heroin. That's awesome. Yeah. 265 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: And what's what's crazy is the heroine that's created today. 266 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: You can make a case is um synthesize every time 267 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: a batch is made because it's it's derived from the 268 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: opium poppy. But then you screw with it a little 269 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: bit to make something different, slightly different. So um. But yes, 270 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: Bear invented heroin. Wow, it's amazing. Um. And then Bear 271 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: also invented aspirin, which is derived from willow bark. That's right. 272 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: And are you gonna say, uh, a set of salic acid? 273 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: Nice one, that's aspirin. But what what's the natural compound? Um? Salison? Yes, 274 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 1: salison um. And that was that was everybody's known about 275 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: willow bark for at least some Syppocrates who wrote about 276 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: it um. And he was a Greek and he lived 277 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: in probably like the third century BC, fourth century BC. 278 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: I always I wish we used zero more in this culture. 279 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: It's so screwy, I know, but I love it. Anytime 280 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: you're trying to place a time like this, you always 281 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: kind of give this look up like you're trying to 282 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: remember hanging out with that person, like forth saying no, 283 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: I think that was third remember correctly, Yeah, so yeah 284 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: it was. I mean it was an anti inflammatory and 285 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: a fever reducer way back then. Still is, And that's 286 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 1: one of the cool things when you people that poop 287 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: poo Eastern medicine and things, it's like a lot of 288 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: this stuff we use today is just a synthesized version 289 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,520 Speaker 1: of rubbing bark on your face and a lot, a lot, 290 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: a lot more than you'd think. El Dopa, which is 291 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: used to treat Parkinson's, derived from a plant. Um there's 292 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:59,160 Speaker 1: a whole awesome list if you if you search um 293 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 1: uh plants synthesized drugs or drugs synthesized plants and a 294 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: search engine, I think the first result is going to 295 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 1: be this list from like the year two thousands of 296 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: modern drugs that were from plants. Yes, and possibly my 297 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: all time favorite, valium was derived from Valerian root, which 298 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 1: I found out and just started taking a lot of 299 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: Valerian root. Now you can make a t from it, 300 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: and it's does it chill you up? Really? Yeah? It 301 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: will knock you out too, if really concentrated. But it 302 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: stinks that I haven't and I want to see o 303 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: A right now. I am not in any way, shape 304 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: or form recommending anyone try anything that I ever say 305 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: that I do. Ever, even that's like, that's in a 306 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: supplement store, right it is. But you know what, that's 307 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: funny you're saying that because I was listening to why 308 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,639 Speaker 1: why doesn't the f d A regulate herbs? And we 309 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 1: had this conversation that it's like, because it's in a 310 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: natural food store, we just think that it's like, oh, 311 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,440 Speaker 1: it's fine, it's harmless. But you could totally odeon any 312 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: number of things in a natural food store. It's because 313 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: the FDA doesn't regulate it that it appears harmless even 314 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: though it is. Yeah. Um, this brings up a point, Josh, 315 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: that I think have always believed that the there is 316 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: no disease that wherein the cure is not somewhere on 317 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: the planet Earth. Oh is that you believe that? I've 318 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: always thought that? And this you know this is true? 319 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: Look at all, Like every plant that is eventually synthesized 320 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,359 Speaker 1: into medicine. I think the answers are all out there. 321 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 1: It's just a matter of God's great scavenger hunt. Yeah. Maybe, 322 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: so I like that idea. Okay, I've been hitting you 323 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: with the home dingers lately, haven't I you? So you 324 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:51,879 Speaker 1: can kind of see Aspirin has been around for a while, 325 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,679 Speaker 1: Heroine has been around for a while, Tonic has been 326 00:18:54,720 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: around for a while. Um, we're still making stuff from plants, 327 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,960 Speaker 1: but we've also figured out another way to use plants 328 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,360 Speaker 1: for medicine. And let's to use like UH enzymes from 329 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 1: the plants as catalysts and UH chemical reactions cells as 330 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,320 Speaker 1: little petrie dishes almost. Yeah, Basically, if you want to 331 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,680 Speaker 1: carry out a um A chemical reaction in a safe 332 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: environment injected into a plant cell, it's a great little 333 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: house for it. And they're little factories. They make all 334 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: sorts of stuff we need in chemical reactions to synthesize drugs, 335 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: so they help in all sorts of ways. So up 336 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: with plants, yes, but not just plants chuck, Not just 337 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,880 Speaker 1: plants that we might like to just chew on once 338 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: in a while. Like Valerian right, but also poisons. For 339 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: for just as long as um medicinal plants have been 340 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: used as drugs, we've also used poisons as well. Yeah, 341 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: that papyrus, uh you were talking about from lux Or, 342 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 1: Egypt that listed all the drugs and plant based drugs, 343 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: it also listed a lot of poisons and a lots 344 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: of a lot of antidotes to those poisons. Yeah, because 345 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: I mean, once we figured out there's such thing as poison, 346 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: we started looking for ways to cure them, right, And 347 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,679 Speaker 1: that kind of follows your your logic that, um, there's 348 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:15,880 Speaker 1: you know, there's an antidote to every poison, yeah, right, 349 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: for every malady. I believe that, And not because of 350 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: any like deep research, but just because of things like this, 351 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: and because I think the earth is structured that way. Balance, right. 352 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: But even before that um homeostasis, Yes, even before that 353 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:35,440 Speaker 1: papyrus though about years before there is a cham i 354 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,439 Speaker 1: Egyptian pharaoh named Many's and he was the first person 355 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: documented to conduct research into poisons because they kill people 356 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: with poison for years. Socrates was famously killed in BC. 357 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,800 Speaker 1: That's the fourth century. I wonder how they first discovered 358 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 1: that some poisons could actually heal you. I don't know, 359 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,119 Speaker 1: maybe by killing someone. Maybe right before they die they 360 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,879 Speaker 1: were like, geez, my back feels great all of a sudden, right, 361 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 1: and they're like, oh, then they die. Yeah, I don't know, 362 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 1: just an idea. Um. We have had a lot of 363 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: hair brain ideas of what can cure you, like, um, 364 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: whiskey to cure a snake bite, right, if you're in 365 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,880 Speaker 1: the Old West, pour some whiskey on it. Right. So 366 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: in the nine twenties some Brazilian um researchers put that 367 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 1: to the test and found that not only is it 368 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: patently untrue, but it actually makes things worse. Yeah, it 369 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: speeds up the blood flow. Yeah, the alcohol does, so 370 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: the delivery of the venom is just much quicker. Yeah. 371 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: I think the whiskey remedy I would choose is here, 372 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,159 Speaker 1: drink a lot of this because you've been bitten by 373 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,959 Speaker 1: a snake and you're gonna die, right, so you might 374 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: as well just numb the pain. And no one, no 375 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: one ever had a patient where it actually worked. They 376 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,600 Speaker 1: just heard of a patient where it worked. That's right, right, Um. 377 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: But the same Brazilian doctors came up with a way 378 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:02,920 Speaker 1: too curious snake bite, didn't they. Yeah, and this is 379 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,280 Speaker 1: amazing to me too. Everyone knows about anti vennon, which 380 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,840 Speaker 1: most people call anti venom. It is but although I 381 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: think I've seen venom is acceptable now because so many 382 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: people use it or something, well, some of our linguists 383 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 1: friends and more progressive ones are like, just let language 384 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:23,439 Speaker 1: to go where it's going exactly, um decimate for instance. Uh, 385 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: what they found out was they can use poison to 386 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: fight poison. So by injecting a snake's venom into something 387 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: of large that can take it, like a horse, they 388 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: would build up an immune system. I bet there's some 389 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:36,399 Speaker 1: trial in air there too, but I can't you just 390 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: see where they're like they inject the horses some venom 391 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: and go around to its face and punch in there. 392 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,119 Speaker 1: So they would inject it into the horse, punch them 393 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: in the face, and then the horse would eventually, you know, 394 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 1: build up an immunity and produce antibodies called anti venom, 395 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: and then they would extract that from the horse the 396 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,959 Speaker 1: hemoglobe in front of the blood. Now we got an 397 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: anti evnom that we can use on humans. And so 398 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 1: those the anti event and those anybody's when somebody is 399 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: bit by a snake, when use the ant evnin that's 400 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: derived from that snake snake's venom. Uh those anybody's go 401 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,680 Speaker 1: into too, the human find the anybody's find the venom 402 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 1: and cling to it so that you can't do anything. 403 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,719 Speaker 1: It's like off me, no, I'll never let you go. 404 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:25,800 Speaker 1: And I want to know how that first started to 405 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: That's who was the first person who thought maybe this 406 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: poison that kills us can heal us. These Brazilian doctors 407 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: were the first ones. And so let's inject into a 408 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,679 Speaker 1: horse and to see it's just amazing because think about it, 409 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,160 Speaker 1: I mean it's so massive, No that that makes sense, 410 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,920 Speaker 1: but just the initial idea, the spark of curiosity, which 411 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: we always talk about, it's pretty amazing, gorgeous. Yeah yeah, so, um, chuck, 412 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: if you this is no one knows this yet. This 413 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: is the big secret. But this podcast, this episode is 414 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: based on two articles. And did you find the common 415 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: thread between the two articles, Um, Sean Connery Willie Nilly 416 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: Willy Nilly in both articles you say that a lot though, 417 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 1: that's I can see that. But did you know willy 418 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: Nilly's hyphenated? Yeah, I thought it was capitalized like a name. 419 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,640 Speaker 1: Just the Willie part is capitalized willy nilly. So these 420 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,919 Speaker 1: Brazilian doctors figured that out right, they were not the 421 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 1: first to figure out that, hey, this thing that kills 422 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:31,600 Speaker 1: me could also in a certain way. At the very least, 423 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: this is very um uh. This part using poisons right 424 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: to cure other problems is very logical. It's saying, this 425 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,800 Speaker 1: poison does this, and this malady does the opposite. So 426 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,040 Speaker 1: if you apply this poison to this malady, it should 427 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: bring you back to homeostasis hopefully, which is what we're 428 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: all searching for. And one of the first guys to 429 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,520 Speaker 1: to follow this reasoning to the very dangerous conclusion of 430 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: here take this deadly nightshade um was a Scottish researcher 431 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,119 Speaker 1: named Thomas Frasier. Are you gonna try this word? Uh? 432 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: Setal colin stays inhibitor. Wow, thank you you practice that one. 433 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:12,880 Speaker 1: That was the first time I said it out loud, 434 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: although I mouthed it a few times. Well, he's atropine 435 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: as that thing that you just said that's found in 436 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 1: deadly nightshade belladonna very potent hallucinogen um, very dangerous poison 437 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: as well. And this atropine, which is an active ingredient 438 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: and contains an alkaloid that this UM, Thomas Fraser figured out, 439 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:40,800 Speaker 1: combats the UM the effects of antrax. Yeah, so antrax 440 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: and saran gas similarly, they're both nerve toxins and the 441 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 1: way that they kill you this is horrible. I know, 442 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: it's unbelievable. So, like you have this thing called a 443 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: setal colin stairs and uh, it's a normal it's a 444 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 1: normal enzyme in your body. That UM basically tells your 445 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: neurons to fire, your nerves fire because it says, hey, 446 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: go fire UM, and it breaks down naturally. What saren 447 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: and antrax do is they prevent it from being broken 448 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,679 Speaker 1: out and it just hangs out in your synapses and 449 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,199 Speaker 1: tells your nerves to keep firing and firing and firing, 450 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:18,359 Speaker 1: and your body just overloads on electrical charges and you 451 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: die very painfully, very painfully because you feel everything because 452 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: all the nerves in your body are firing way more 453 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: than they should be. UM. So what what Scottish physician 454 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 1: Thomas Fraser figured out is that atropine is an acetal 455 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: colline stays inhibitor, so it goes in and basically binds 456 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: the receptors where the acetal colling stays would normally bind. 457 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: It's that itself and hence atropine. This poison can prevent 458 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: the effects of antrax and saren and that's still used today. 459 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: Ironically from the Deadly nightshade plant. The whole concept of 460 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: using poisonous medicine is just dripping with irony. It is 461 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,159 Speaker 1: it is Josh. Another thing they're doing these days at 462 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 1: the University of Buffalo is they are using um chilan 463 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,640 Speaker 1: tarantula rose tarantula to combat heart attack death. So cell 464 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: walls have these little channels that open when the cell stretches, 465 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: and they basically helped to contract and release. Your heart 466 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: muscles are probably just contract well. They they channel the 467 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,399 Speaker 1: ions through. These are ion channels. The ions give it 468 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: the electrical signal, so it's part of the pumping, right. 469 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 1: But if these things get too wide, there will be 470 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,880 Speaker 1: too many positive ions, and that is basically what could 471 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: potentially lead to a heart attack because it throws off 472 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: the rhythm, and your heart attack is is just um 473 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 1: a rhythmic heartbeat. So this tarantula of enom binds to 474 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:48,160 Speaker 1: these channels and blocks it from passing through and potentially 475 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: saves people from heart attacks. Tarantula in them. Yeah, and scorpions. Yeah, 476 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: I told you that I knew someone who was undergoing 477 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 1: that therapy. We talked about that in the most with 478 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: the most venomous creature on what we did. Yeah, And 479 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: I tried to find research on him today to see 480 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,879 Speaker 1: if he is still fighting his fight with cancer, and 481 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: I could not find out. But there's a guy I 482 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 1: could ask and I got a lot of hope. This 483 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:14,920 Speaker 1: guy's a big inspiration for me. Well, it's good. Let 484 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:18,040 Speaker 1: everybody know. I will unless it's bad news and then 485 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: I will just not speak of it. But what we 486 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 1: were talking about is scorpion venom UH is being used 487 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: to treat in his case, brain brain cancer, the Israeli 488 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: yellow scorpion, and it has a protein that binds itself 489 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: to UH cancer cells found in glioma's and that is 490 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: brain cancer actually, and it it basically keeps it from 491 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: replicating itself, keeps he cells from spreading. Well it does. 492 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:48,960 Speaker 1: And they also figured out that you can attach a 493 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 1: UM basically a radioactive iodine to this venom, the protein 494 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:57,440 Speaker 1: found in the venom, and so the venom goes and 495 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: seeks out the glioma and it brings with it along 496 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:03,320 Speaker 1: for the ride this radioactive iodine and as we all know, 497 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: cancer cells don't like radiation, so it basically seeks in destroys. 498 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: It's like a vehicle for it. It is. Is this 499 00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: the iron oxide nanoparticles? I don't know? All right, here's 500 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: the deal. This is what I got. Chlorotoxin is the 501 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: chemical that affects the protein, and the protein is what 502 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: helps spread the cancer. This is new. I think they 503 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: have a new study where they got chemically bonded iron 504 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,520 Speaker 1: oxide nanoparticles. They put that with the lab made version 505 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,719 Speaker 1: of the chlorotoxin and they created these nanoprobes. Each nanoprobe 506 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: can carry twenty chlorotoxin molecules. Did they paint like that's 507 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: basically what it is. So it's tumor cell uptakes a 508 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: single nanoparticle. It's absorbing a lot of this chlorotoxin it once. 509 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: So basically they did this on on mice and they 510 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: found that with the nanoparticles that there are the nanoprobes 511 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: that they're using, um it fights the tumor by percent 512 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: compared to of just the venom. So I guess they've 513 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 1: given it a little super car. They can hold a 514 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: lot of this stuff in the trunk. That is really cool. Yeah, good. 515 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,880 Speaker 1: Up with mice, hunt, up with mice, up with scorpion venom, 516 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 1: down with cancer? Right, Well, you got anything else? I 517 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 1: do not. I don't either, Chuck. I think let's turn 518 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: out better than I thought. Oh yeah, I had this 519 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 1: turned out exactly how I hoped it would. Really yeah, 520 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,120 Speaker 1: I thought it was gonna be great and it was. 521 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:40,200 Speaker 1: That was very nice. Uh. If you want to check 522 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 1: out these two articles, you can type in poison medicine 523 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,480 Speaker 1: and plant medicine into the search bar how stuff works 524 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: dot Com. That will bring both of them up, along 525 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: with a bunch of other cool stuff in our wonderful 526 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: search page. Um. And since I said search bar, you 527 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: know that means it's time for what they spook question 528 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: and an answer session. We do this from time to time, Josh, 529 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: we throw it on Facebook. He ask us anything. We'll 530 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: zip through as many of these as we can the 531 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: next couple of episodes. I like how people do ask 532 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,440 Speaker 1: us anything and then we ignore it a lot of it. 533 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: Save these, by the way, because we may not be 534 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: done with these. I printed them out for us. Go ahead, 535 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 1: you take the first one. Ah. This one's from Cyrus 536 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,800 Speaker 1: Brojas at the time when it pronounced his name. Uh, 537 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 1: do you guys really have cubes right next to each 538 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,720 Speaker 1: other at the office? Not only do we have cubes 539 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 1: right next to each other? Now, Chuck, you moved and 540 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,560 Speaker 1: we're like, we don't share a wall anymore, but there's 541 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,280 Speaker 1: nothing but open space between us. Yeah, I'm behind you 542 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: and you are behind me. We're like five ft from 543 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: one another. So I you did not like it first? 544 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: It was not so I disliked it. It It was just weird, man, 545 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: It's so weird. Um. So now I spend my days 546 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:05,280 Speaker 1: is kind of staring at Chuck while he researches and things. Yeah. Uh. 547 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:08,200 Speaker 1: This from Emily Tran, What has been your most interesting 548 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: or memorable dream to date? Um? I, Emily, have celebrity 549 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: dreams all the time where I am really good buddies 550 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 1: with Larry David or Jack Black, whoever my heroes are, 551 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 1: and they're really realistic and always wake up and and 552 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: very disappointed. Huh that that's not the case. You have? 553 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,560 Speaker 1: You had some friendships with some of your heroes these days? Think, Yeah, 554 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: but not Larry David yet. Maybe one day, maybe one day. Um, 555 00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: you got a memorable dream? Yeah, I do. I don't 556 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 1: remember the dream but um, I'm gonna bring you me 557 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 1: in here on this one. She tells me that for 558 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: three nights in a row, I would sit up and 559 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: point like at the ceiling, be like, what's that kid 560 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: doing up there? And she'd be like, what are you 561 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:57,840 Speaker 1: talking about? Look? And there'd be nothing there, of course, 562 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:00,240 Speaker 1: and she'd be like, what do you mean? And I thing, 563 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: let's go back this week. I have no recollection of it. 564 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 1: Whatsoever your house might be haunted, dudes, I have no 565 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: idea what that dream was or anything like that. So, 566 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 1: but there's kids like in our ceiling. It's scored three 567 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:16,360 Speaker 1: nights in the run, Tom Blake, there's a bustle in 568 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: my head, drow. What should I do? I think everyone 569 00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: knows the answer. Don't be alarmed? Yeah, technically that's the 570 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: first step, though, That's like, first, don't be alarmed, then 571 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: something right? So what comes after that? I don't know. 572 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: We not to ask Jimmy Page or maybe Robert Playing 573 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,840 Speaker 1: wrote that. I say, go back inside, go into your 574 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:37,160 Speaker 1: house and beware the child on the ceiling. What country 575 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: would you like to live in other than the States. 576 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,160 Speaker 1: I've always wanted to live in Spain. I think Spain 577 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:45,920 Speaker 1: would be really neat to live in, although their government 578 00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,680 Speaker 1: is in so much turmoil and they have like a 579 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: whole separatist region. Um, if everybody could just mellow out 580 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,360 Speaker 1: in Spain, I I I would drop out. You never 581 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: hear from me again. I'd be on some island or something. 582 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,560 Speaker 1: Would you do island living? I could do island living 583 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:03,440 Speaker 1: as well, if they had electricity and all that stuff, 584 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:05,840 Speaker 1: like it has to be a rich guy's island. A 585 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: rich guy's island. Yeah. Um, let me see what is 586 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: your favorite thing? This is Jason Carpenter. What is your 587 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:15,959 Speaker 1: favorite thing a listener has ever sent you in the mail? 588 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:22,120 Speaker 1: Beer ranks pretty high there. Um, beat Jerky, little little 589 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 1: bit sweets. I always like seeing that package, right, the 590 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,680 Speaker 1: honeycombs one. Did you have those? Yeah? That's because my 591 00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: all time favorite little bit sweets? Candy coffee. You've gotten 592 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,960 Speaker 1: coffee getting coffee? Yeah? The beat Jerky was really high 593 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,320 Speaker 1: up there. It's like buds, smoked meats or something. Since 594 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:43,400 Speaker 1: from a listener ound in California. Oh that lady that 595 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: printed her photographs on the paper that she made. That 596 00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,200 Speaker 1: that was pretty neat. Yeah, we get lots of cool stuff. 597 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:52,200 Speaker 1: It's I don't want to hurt people's fee mugs were 598 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:55,680 Speaker 1: pretty awesome. I have still use that unicorn tears. I 599 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,600 Speaker 1: like the Joe Garden's book. Yeah, that was nice. We 600 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:00,640 Speaker 1: get a bunch of cool stuff. It's tots are really 601 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,719 Speaker 1: separated out because we've gotten some cool postcards even all right, 602 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 1: And I want to say my last one, Um, the 603 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: last one I rose from Janetsey Patrick. I realized I 604 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,799 Speaker 1: forgot to ask her to tell her that. Tell her? Yeah, 605 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,440 Speaker 1: how about one more each? Uh? Classic debate Power to 606 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,520 Speaker 1: be Invisible or Fly? Um? I would fly. I don't 607 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: think i'd want to know what most people have to 608 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,799 Speaker 1: say about me when I'm not around. Yeah, I would 609 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:27,480 Speaker 1: fly too, because that means I wouldn't have to fly 610 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:33,080 Speaker 1: commercially anymore, which is something I hate passionately. And that one, 611 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: by the way, was um, Shanna McCann, thanks for that. 612 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna finish up with Melissa Rosenthal. When you were children, 613 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 1: what were your favorite books? Um? I am going to 614 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:48,520 Speaker 1: say generally anything by shel Silverstein. When I was young, young, 615 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: into my little tween years, I got really into bloom 616 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 1: County the comic, got all those books, and then my 617 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,440 Speaker 1: favorite book, though the first book I ever read, really read, 618 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,640 Speaker 1: was when I was like eight or nine. I read 619 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 1: The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper and it was released in 620 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,759 Speaker 1: nineteen eight. Award winning children's book about these mice that 621 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:18,360 Speaker 1: live in Macy's in New York. Sounds cool. Santa Claus 622 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 1: is kidnapped and they have to figure it out and 623 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,239 Speaker 1: track of the case. Why is everybody always kidnapedything? I 624 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:25,919 Speaker 1: don't know, but I have no idea why this hasn't 625 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,239 Speaker 1: been like a Disney movie. It was excellent. I read 626 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,160 Speaker 1: it every year for like seven to twelve nice and 627 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:36,200 Speaker 1: it was really good. What's yours? Uh? Probably my favorite 628 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 1: little kid's book was Huper Humperdinck not Him, which is 629 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,160 Speaker 1: uh in that Dr Seuss camp but not a Doctor 630 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: Seusee book, you know what I'm talking about. Um. I 631 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: read a lot of Richard Scary and Barren Stain Bears, 632 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,360 Speaker 1: and then as I got a little older, I reade 633 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 1: Ramona Quimby books for years. Those never read those. We 634 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,480 Speaker 1: both did Encyclopedia Brown too. Yeah, it's cool. I'll always 635 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:03,040 Speaker 1: remember he knew that that one kid was fake crying, 636 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,600 Speaker 1: and that he was the culprit because the kid put 637 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:07,799 Speaker 1: fake tears like on the outside of his eyes, but 638 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:11,279 Speaker 1: you always try from the inside. Yeah, what a dumb kid. 639 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,439 Speaker 1: Everyone knows that, but a lot of the kids see 640 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:15,920 Speaker 1: grapple with were pretty stupid. Yeah that's true. I'd like 641 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,560 Speaker 1: to read this today and see fucking figure him out. Oh, Betty, 642 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,600 Speaker 1: just be like, I can't read this, you think. Yeah. Well, 643 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:24,880 Speaker 1: if you have questions for us, you can always post 644 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:28,879 Speaker 1: them on Facebook, Facebook, dot com, slash stuff you Should Know. UM. 645 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: You can also tweet to us at s y s 646 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 1: K podcast and UM. You can reach us regular snail 647 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:48,520 Speaker 1: email at stuff podcast. At how stuff works dot com 648 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,000 Speaker 1: for more on this and thousands of other topics, is 649 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,480 Speaker 1: it how stuff works dot com. Want more how stuff works, 650 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:56,960 Speaker 1: check out our blogs on the house. Stuff works dot 651 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:02,200 Speaker 1: com home page. Brought to you by the reinvented two 652 00:38:02,239 --> 00:38:04,640 Speaker 1: thousand twelve Camry. It's ready, are you