Gold has yet another purpose and may help fightcancer
Gold increases effectiveness of drugs used to treat cancer cells by acting as catalyst research shows
Use of gold in technology and health growing each year
Tech use to increase- number of patent applications in 2017 grew
Industrial applications such as solar and bio-metrics reduce availability of above ground supply and gold for investment
Another string to the bow of gold and potential impact on sentiment towards gold and on the gold price
‘Could gold finally have a purpose?’ bizarre headline ignores gold’s 2,500 plus year history as a means of exchange, money and a store of value
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Editor: Mark O’Byrne
Real, scientific evidence has been popping up for a while now which suggests the precious metal can make some major contributions to the world of science and medicine.
As a fan of Goldschlger I have long been convinced of the health benefits of gold and just lastweek a research team at Edinburgh University announced results that showed gold nanoparticles could increase the effectiveness of drugs used to treat lung cancer cells.
This latest announcement from the field of science is one of many which have been cropping up outside of the investment space, from medicine to solar panels to space technology, gold is making significant strides when it comes to its place outside of the financial world.
In the last quarter, gold used in technology rose 2% y-o-y, according to the World Gold Council. This was mainly thanks to a growth in demand for bonding wire, Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and LEDs.
It is not surprising that gold has a place beyond money. Due to it high conductivity, chemical stability and compatibility with other elements it is an ideal candidate in many applications.
As technology and research improves the number of use cases for gold is growing each year. This is beneficial for those who are investing in physical gold bullion.
Demand for gold’s physical properties in science takes it out of circulation and increases the demand for physical gold thereby reducing the availability for investment purposes.
Below, we take a quick look at some of the use cases of gold and explain why this is good news for the gold market.
Gold compounds
Scientific research into the health benefits of gold has been going on for some time. But, as we have seen with other alternative treatments such as colloidal silver, there have been occasionalnegative results and this has slowed research in this area.
Frequently uses for gold in medicine are pushed to the wayside due to a lack of technology that can maximise the benefits of the metal. This means side effects have been serious and enough to outweigh the benefits for many users.
For example, in 1935 studies into the benefits of ‘gold salts’ were carried out. The term refers to gold compounds used in medicine, a practice known as aurotherapy. One of the main uses for gold compounds in health was as an anti-inflammatory. However it was rarely encouraged by the medical mainstream due to unwanted side effects such as skin discolouration, chrysiasas and kidney issues.
But, as scientific methods improve research is able to find ways to harness the benefits of the precious metal without such dramatic side effects, as we have seen with this latest news. This is mainly thanks to the growing role of tech in health, as scientists work to see how we can use technology to improve diagnoses and treatment, rather than just look to chemicals and how they might cure us.
A (perhaps) more impressive use for gold in health was revealed last year, in Israel when researchers from the Israel Institute of Technology developed sensors made from gold nanoparticles which can be used in a breath test in order to identify different diseases.
Whilst the test is not yet accurate enough for mainstream use, the Institute’s sensors could identify the specific disease 86% of the time after allowing for factors such as age and gender.
Health remains a small field for gold as scientists work to perfect developments, but it can look to the area of technology for inspiration in terms of its potential.
Gold’s in vogue energy and security
One of the major criticisms of gold, by the environmental lobby is the energy intensive process involved in mining for gold.
Whilst mining companies work to reduce their impact on the environment, the yellow metal is being used in energy harnessing methods through solar panels and so is almost working on the flip side of this issue.
In 2011 a team of French and Dutch scientists found that a discontinuous film of gold nanodots just 0.5nm thick, across a solar panel could improve the efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells (already a low cost option in alternative energy). This layer needed to just cover 15% of the cells in order to see an improvement in performance.
Of course, solar panels and alternative energy sources are increasingly important, especially as governments fight to work out a solution to the energy crisis. Another area growing rapidly (much to many readers’