WOW !!! This just posted on the other board ...
Post# of 151
Money4Nothing-M4N // 1034 hrs // Post #290,894
Re: #290,893: @arachnodude - Hey Jake, keep calling them out! It's fun
Very interesting news out of Cambodia. Can see why Kim is so interested in teaming up https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ZHsehpT9F/
The following is the text from the FB posting.
Cambodia produces insulin through silkworms
Cambodia invented silk bacteria producing insulin cheaper than pharmaceutical methods. Cambodian biotechnologists have engineered silkworms to produce human insulin in their silk—creating pharmaceutical-grade diabetes medication at 1/50th the cost of conventional production.
The breakthrough: Silkworm silk glands produce proteins at industrial scale naturally. Scientists inserted human insulin genes into silkworm DNA—silkworms now produce insulin protein alongside silk proteins.
Production process: Silkworms are raised normally, feeding on mulberry leaves. After cocoon formation, silk is harvested and insulin is extracted through simple purification. The silk remains usable for textiles—dual product from single process.
Cost revolution:
Conventional insulin: $250 per vial (pharmaceutical factory production)
Silk insulin: $5 per vial (silkworm production)
Production cost reduction: 98%
Accessibility: Makes insulin affordable for 450 million diabetics globally
Quality assurance: Silk-produced insulin is molecularly identical to pharmaceutical insulin. Clinical trials with 500 diabetic patients showed equivalent effectiveness and safety. FDA approval granted March 2025. (!!!)
Cambodia's transformation: Silk industry employs 200,000 Cambodians in small family farms. Adding insulin production increases farmer income 300% while producing life-saving medicine—combining traditional crafts with biotechnology.
Production capacity: Cambodia's 50,000 silk farms can produce 100 million insulin vials annually—enough for 8 million diabetic patients. Expansion to 500 million vials by 2028.
Global health impact: This could end insulin rationing (where patients skip doses due to cost), saving 100,000 lives annually in developing countries.
Source: Royal University of Phnom Penh Biotechnology Center, Nature Biotechnology 2025
"Sic parvis magna" - Greatness from small beginnings
All the best, WBeacham