Gold in the pharmaceutical industry
Gold has been around since the earliest times and it is something that most societies have prized as being valuable. Pliny the Elder wrote about its many uses back in the first century already. And it’s no wonder, too – gold has such a high reputation for a good reason. This is the metal that doesn’t tarnish, conducts electricity well, is a pleasure to work with, and alloys well with a diverse range of materials. This has made it easy to sell gold to people who want to work with it.
One of the number one uses for gold is of course in jewellery. This has always been the case, though perhaps we should draw a broader line and mention that gold has chiefly been a staple of decoration purposes. The other chief use was to support the ‘gold standard’, though this is no longer the case in any of the sovereign nations.
Gold in the pharmaceutical industry
The most unusual use for gold has got to be in the pharmaceutical industry. This is an ongoing practice – it’s at least 5000 years old and surprise! It’s still happening today. Scientists use nanocages, which are hollow, porous gold nanoparticles, to kill cancerous cells. Scientists have been successful in killing malignant cells in mice, according to an article in one scientific journal.
Gold in the electronics industry
Another unique use of gold is in the electronics industry. This is something that only a few outsiders know about. Gold is the best material to use in cellphones, global positioning system units, and television sets. The biggest problem with this is not that these items use gold; the big problem is that most of these items end up in landfills, which means that the gold inside is lost to our society.
Gold in the beauty industry
The ancient Chinese used gold massage rollers on their face – they thought these implements would help their skin to glow, and would reduce wrinkles. Cleopatra supposedly slept in 24K gold masks. Cleopatra may have been slightly ahead of her time: spas around the world are now using gold leaf masks to treat facial skin. It supposedly accelerates the rate at which cells in the skin’s basal layer regenerate. Perhaps this is the Golden Grail of the beauty industry
