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Chinese scientists have found a new chemical compound in the venom of a centipede native to China that can act as a painkiller with no negative side effects like those associated with morphine.
The discovery could potentially help a country's military reduce its reliance on morphine for battleground injuries, or even create an army of soldiers with the ability to fight on after sustaining wounds in combat, pundits say.
"It is completely different from morphine," said Professor Lai Ren, the lead scientist of the study.
"Morphine is only intended for emergency use. It has many side effects and can lead to addiction over the longer-term," added Lai, who works with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Kunming Institute of Zoology in southern Yunnan province.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:16AM
China has some thirty million males more than females. Males that may have little chance of getting a mate. There will have to be some way of burning up that excess energy and frustration, and military campaigns are a historical way for governments to get that to happen. So they can create a massive, impervious to pain from wounds army.
Even if this doesn't happen in real life someone should make a movie about it....
(Score: 2) by kurenai.tsubasa on Saturday November 14 2015, @06:27AM
Oh come on. This is good for medical science….
The Chinese are also ramping up their navy. We're told, presumably, to merely project power in the South China Sea.
Interesting times, given that the next (maybe, but probably not) cold war will be between BRICS and TPP/TTIP.
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @07:48AM
I'd rather go into battle hooked on morphine.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @01:30PM
I've been pointing this same thing out for years. Glad I'm not the only one to notice it.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday November 14 2015, @06:34PM
I've been pointing this same thing out for years. Glad I'm not the only one to notice it.
Another consideration, Islam has been growing in popularity in China, especially among the young. I can't help but believe the disparity among the number of men and women is part of it. When you have a large, young population of men that may never have the wealth or whatever necessary to get a mate, a promise of reward after dying for a religion may be the best they believe they can get. It will be interesting to see how a growing Islamic population affects China, and how the government will react to it.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday November 15 2015, @12:06AM
Do you mean Islam is growing among the Uighurs, or the Han? The Uighurs I'd believe, because they're kind of already there and there's a violent independence movement (aka terrorist cell) there already. The Han converting to Islam would surprise the heck out of me, because there's almost no precedent for it. There was the admiral who was a muslim who sailed the great fleet to Zanzibar, but that's about it. Christianity had the Taipings and there were the various converts that resulted from the European colonial powers running around.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @08:31PM
Ladyboys, that's the solution to their problem. Convert a bunch of the men into ladyboys, and Bob's your granny.