830
submitted 3 months ago by ArchRecord@lemm.ee to c/technology@lemmy.world

Sharing because I found this very interesting.

The Four Thieves Vinegar Collective has a DIY design for a home lab you can set up to reproduce expensive medication for dirt cheap, producing medication like that used to cure Hepatitis C, along with software they developed that can be used to create chemical compounds out of common household materials.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] BartyDeCanter 38 points 3 months ago

This seems both awesome and dangerous. The two analogies that come to mind are home canning and home brewing. They’re both generally safe and easy. But every so often someone gives their family botulism.

[-] LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

True. A lot of drugs you can perform tests on. But there is an inherent risk. I don't think making medicine at home is going to be many people's first choice. I think the people most likely to pursue this are those for whom obtaining medication other ways is not possible. When the government makes it impossible for someone to obtain health care, either due to literally making it illegal or by allowing it to become completely unaffordable for working class people, then they have to resort to other options.

With patience and diligent work it is possible to make many medications with (by comparison) significantly cheaper resources. And if someone were to do this, presumably, there are others who also have similar needs for the medications being produced. Which is how community medicine networks are formed. DIY Hormone replacement medications for trans people living in places where it's illegal for them to access medication, or otherwise extremely difficult often access medicines made through networks like that.

This isn't really a new thing, but the ease of access certainly is.

[-] Mirshe@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

Yup. The trans community has been doing this with HRT meds for YEARS because it was either straight up illegal, or almost impossible to obtain access because of the dozens of hoops you had to jump through.

this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
830 points (98.0% liked)

Technology

59875 readers
2926 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS