TL;DW:
Due to various molecular configurations (aka polymorphs), currently known medicines when contaminated with a catalyst seed molecule/particle can become irreversibly unreproducible via chained-contaminations.

  • the contamination can cause the existing configurations to become more stable in a negative fashion where the medicine/compounds no longer work they way we expect them to.

This system of contamination and reproduction acts in similar fashion to viral infections.

Current Solutions:

  • better clean room procedures for all steps of medicine manufacturing.
  • pour more money into medicine polymorph research.
  • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
    10·
    13 hours ago

    EDIT: check luciole’s comment, the cover is likely tin undergoing tin pest, not aluminium.

    The cover picture is likely gallium over aluminium, unrelated to medication. Metallic aluminium is surprisingly reactive, but usually you don’t notice it because it’s covered with a layer of oxide; so in the presence of certain other metals you get a vicious cycle, like:

    • gallium leaks past the oxide layer, and forms an alloy with the aluminium
    • aluminium in the alloy gets exposed to the air, so it becomes oxide
    • the alloy kicks the oxide out, because it stopped being a metal
    • now gallium is free to form an alloy with even more metallic aluminium

    It also works with mercury. The metal, not this one.

    Now I’m going to watch the video. Sorry. I just had to babble about metals, plus aluminium fuckery brings me childhood memories (not even joking).

      • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
        2·
        13 hours ago

        Ah, it’s tin pest? (I’m watching the video right now.)

        Same “basic” idea, of a vicious cycle. Except you don’t need reaction with an external substance, like oxygen; the catalyst for tin pest is even more tin. (That means the blob over the cube of metal is likely a piece of grey tin. You could use germanium instead but eh, it’s more expensive.)