Slashdot Mirror
AI Helps Grow 6 Billion Roaches at China's Largest Breeding Site (cnet.com)
With the help of AI, folks at a Chinese pharmaceutical company are breeding cockroaches by the billions every year, South China Morning Post reports. From a report: Their purpose: To make a "healing potion" that can cure respiratory, gastric and other diseases. The "potion," consumed by over 40 million people in China, is made by crushing the cockroaches once they reach a desired weight and size, according to the publication. There is a "slightly fishy smell" to the potion, which tastes "slightly sweet" and looks like tea, it added. Some insects are known to have potential health benefits. Besides China's cockroach potion, scientists are also exploring how milk-like protein crystals in roaches could be an excellent source of calories and nutrition. Chewing down on bugs like crickets and mealworms can also give us more protein, according to studies.
Seriously, aren't cockroaches right up there in causes of asthma?
And this is certainly a place I'd totally NOPE out of...
The first part makes it sound like that traditional Chinese healing mysticism. Although insects are certainly a good source of protein and pretty efficient in converting plant matter into said proteins.
Anyway, I suppose it's better than killing Tigers and other endangered species for their bone(r)s because some old guys can't get a proper erection any more.
It's not that kind of roach!?!?
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
beetle juice
beetle juice
crazy dynamite monkey
and where can I download the empirical data of the double blind studies?
Thank GOD for AI, how on earth could roaches breed without sophisticated algorithms?
Now if only we could fix the brains of the Chinese who seem to think crushing up bits of other animals bodies (the more endangered, the better) has some kind of pharmacological effect.
"AI Helps Grow 6 Billion Roaches at China's Largest Breeding Site"
Is it a mere coincidence that at the exact same time the US Democratic Party claims 6 Billion new members???
I... think... not...
It's the story with everything; "AI" and grossness!
and where can I download the empirical data of the double blind studies?
That's the beauty of traditional Chinese "medicine". It only works if you don't try to check to see if it actually works.
and how it works and when I've recovered from the shock, I'll write 'Fancy That' on the side of my ****.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
Sounds absolutely disgusting but I guess it beats rhino and tiger.
Honestly, if you make a medical claim, you better have some fucking proof. I still have no idea how homeopaths haven't been arrested for making misleading claims about the curative power of nothing.
I've wondered that exact thing myself. Homeopathy is nothing more than fraud. It is quackery in its most transparent form.
At least traditional Chinese medicine has at least some track record for a few things which actually work.
Not much but I'll grant a few herbs and the like. I'm still not convinced acupuncture is better than placebo and there is no explanation of a mechanism of action.
Didn't they feed all the lower-class, back of the train folks ground-up bug protein bars?
you might think it's snake oil, but there are reasons for the "American Drugs" examples you give.
- Regarding peppers:
These will increase the secretion of the mucosae (i.e.: they'll cause your eye to produce more tear and will get your nose more runny. all this additional water you'll produce wil basically help washing your nose/sinuses)
(most of the traditional cures for upper respiratory tract infections work the same way)
several nasal spray work the same way but more directly (saline water to help wash out the nose).
(the remaining types of sprays tend to also pack in addition a vaso-constricting agents)
- regarding alcohol in cough syrup :
some substance are better dissolved in an alcohol solution than in pure water. Out of the top of my head: codeine doesn't like cold water, if i remember correctly. that's a common antitussive - suppressor of the cough reflex (a class of deug useful in case of dry cough - irritation causing you to cough even if there's nothing to expel).
(wether the active molecules dissolved in the alcohol will actually help you is another question altogether. but alcohol is a key component for the syrup to actually be a syrup and not some undissolved powder at the bottom of a water bottle)
- artificially bitter taste of drugs: yes, in some circumstances, some active molecules which taste sweet might end up in preparation made bitter-tasting on purpose. usually the reason is to diminish the risk of it being accidentally ingested by children or pets.
so no, the purpose is not (only) to make you think it's a drug by making it taste like a drug, but to avoid making it taste too close to candy and have a children OD on it.
so there are actual non marketing uses for the above
(but yes, mint in toothpaste has no other purposes than making you feel fresh).
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Yea - plants need a very specific environment to grow. Tailoring the water level, light level, light cycle, nutrients, etc. can have a pretty dramatic effect on overall growth (more carrots, quicker!).
Roaches? Pretty sure that "a pile of roach food" is good enough.
The article indicates that it takes "humidity, temperature, food supply and consumption" into account and makes changes. Okay, sure... I guess that's a research study (do roaches grow faster in low/high humidity environments?), but I can't imagine that it will have meaningful effect.
However, you appear to be labeling anything designated as "homeopathic" as fraud which would be a mistake.
It's not a mistake. Homeopathy absolutely is fraud and provably has zero medicinal impact greater than placebo. We don't allow people to sell placebos and claim they are medicine so I don't understand why we allow homeopathy quacks to do the same.
The "science" of homeopathy is complete and utter bullshit, but ultimately it relies on herbal remedies and those can be efficacious as others have noted.
The only thing homeopathy relies upon is the gullibility of the person purchasing/using it. There is no measurable or therapeutic amount of any remedy of any kind (herbal or otherwise) in homeopathic "remedies". There is no mechanism of action that is based in any biochemistry known to man. Anyone selling homeopathy is a criminal. I don't even care if they really believe it works. They are selling people false hope and making a handsome profit doing so.
Why are algorithms now being referred to as AI? It's very tiresome correcting the misinformed.
So they can stop exterminating african wildlife for thier tarditional 'medicine'.
sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
And why is everybody talking about him?
The problem is that the dosage prescribed by Homeopathy is too low to have any effect.
No the "dosage" in homeopathic "cures" is literally indistinguishable from zero. Worse they make some ludicrous claims about water having "memory" which you have to be a weapons grade moron to actually believe.
The core methodology of Homeopathy is to find something that will cause effects similar to what you want to cure or prevent
That is the cover story. The core methodology is to lie to people and convince them that they are buying something that is somehow more than overpriced bottled water.