Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Using Super-Science to Beat COVID-19, Bolster the Cannabis Industry, & Help Save the World

Where does science fall on your priority list?
Where does science fall on your priority list?
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

“People think I am the Asian version of Tony Stark … they are wrong. I am more like Alfred in Batman,” says prolific inventor, teacher, and futurist super-scientist Dr. Gordon Chiu.

Perhaps the superhero comparisons come from Chiu’s ability to process information much faster than the average person. Or maybe they come from his innovative achievements and excellence in multiple areas of science, industry, and education.


With 31 patents to his name, Chiu brings an integrative approach perhaps like nobody else on Earth. He has spearheaded ground-breaking work in areas such as viruses, graphene, dermatology, and agriculture, just to name a few. As a student, he had also worked as a NASA scientist and even did academic-sponsored research with the Drug Enforcement Administration, making the first naltrexone derivative to potentially block the dopamine response from the effects of cocaine.

It has been a long journey for Chiu, fueled by mentorship, angel investors – and humility. He continues to pay it all forward, doing what he can to help make the world a better place for his daughters and future generations. And the further one digs into Chiu’s experiences and insights, the more obvious – and inspiring – those superhero comparisons become.

“My whole life has been working on invisible things. Patents are invisible. You don’t get patents that are granted in your name or filed and approved unless you can see into the future, but the things that you see or do can’t be found in any textbook because that would violate the definition of the patent,” Chiu explains. 

Although one of Chiu’s most recent patents could change the future of the cannabis industry and agriculture in general, his advice regarding COVID-19 – which he predicted in a 2009 documentary – is even more pressing and could save lives.

Beating COVID-19 with pH-10 Soap 

Are you using the right type of soap?Are you using the right type of soap?Photo by Mélissa Jeanty on Unsplash

Chiu’s work with viruses and his role in the U.S.’s response to the H1N1 crisis a decade ago are particularly relevant today as journalists, scientists, and physicians around the world turn to him for questions and insights about the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Chiu, one of the most critical factors in fighting COVID-19 is ensuring people are using the right kind of soap. “People talk about washing your hands for 20 seconds, although it should really be with pH-10 soap,” he advises. 

“The COVID-19 virus has these spikes, which are glycoproteins. These spikes are like keys that fit inside a lock (ACE2 receptors on our cells) thereby allowing the transfer of single-stranded RNA. Using pH-10 soaps can emulsify the virus and cause damage to the glycoprotein spikes.”

In other words, these spikes are how the virus binds with cells in the body where it can start wreaking havoc. Using the wrong kind of soap may not destroy those spikes, creating an even riskier situation for those who think they have clean hands, or even clean dishes for that matter.

During a video call, Chiu draws a diagram on the whiteboard in his office, showing how COVID-19 affects the alveolar sacs in the lungs, essentially causing them to collapse. “[These sacs] are like tiny little grapes that are inside your lungs, and when those things collapse, they don’t come back,” says Chiu, who was also trained as a physician under the National Institutes of Health and studied naturopathic medicine before deciding to focus on science and innovation. 

“So, what happens when you get sick with the coronavirus, you could lose 30% of your lung function. Now, try singing a song after that, or try running after that. Your life, even if you live, potentially could be a miserable mess. It seems like nobody talks about that, either. So many people think this is just a simple flu, which is really peculiar.”

Chiu also openly wonders why first responders to COVID-19 don’t wear the same bio-protective suits that he and his colleagues wore during the H1N1 crisis.

He has also talked about the practice of adopting an anti-inflammatory diet for those who want to bolster their immune systems against COVID-19, speculating that perhaps Italy’s disastrous infection rate might be partially connected to the country’s heavy intake of pasta and refined grains.

Bringing Super-Science to Cannabis, Hemp, & Agriculture

One of Chiu’s most recently filed patents, titled "Plant Press Using Shearing Force" was published in March 2020 and could add a lot of value to cannabis and hemp extraction, as well as agriculture in general.

One of the most basic applications of the patent promises cannabis extraction with less waste, greater purity, and the ability to extract the often-overlooked cannabinoids from plant stalks and leaves.

“The story behind how I got into cannabis is probably more amazing than anything else that I’ve ever done,” Chiu notes. “I was not supposed to write that same patent that you read now.” 

Essentially, Chiu had been pulled into a cannabis investment deal with some friends, and he wrote this patent to help increase the value of the investment. When the cannabis industry started to surge in 2018, the group of friends sold everything to a Brazilian investor, who just wanted to grow and didn’t want the patent.

“So we got to keep the patent and continued to incubate it. And then in 2019, it looked like we were silly to have sold the cannabis, right? But then in the second quarter of 2019, it looks like cannabis took a dive. And so by 2020, where we are now, a lot of companies are very low on cash flow and things like that. And then you have this patent that gets published.”

When Chiu first got involved in cannabis work, one of the first things he noticed in the industry was a desperate need for high-level scientists. 

“You need an integrated background to provide those rare foresights, such as the patent I wrote, which provides a different way of extraction, low cost, streamlined,” Chiu explains. “But no extractor has ever been built to also provide disinfection and humidity control in order to promote or propagate seed-life extension, which is pretty vital.”

The big question: what other kinds of impactful innovation would cannabis see if more scientists got involved?

Not Enough Scientists in Cannabis Due to Stigma

Many professionals are still concerned that cannabis work will negatively affect their career.Many professionals are still concerned that cannabis work will negatively affect their career.Photo by H Shaw on Unsplash

According to Chiu, the dearth of top scientists in cannabis exacerbates an important issue, namely bad science.

Any time the scientific method is eschewed and people fail to track their data, the results can bring about serious, potentially dangerous issues, he says.

In the cannabis world, bad science is what leads to people consuming contaminated products, inhaling harmful mold spores or even glass particles.

“So that explains, if you have an open mind, how cannabis and cannabis seeds and hemp seeds could be a massive risk if you don’t have a lot of scientists and people working on downstream products,” Chiu says.

“The reality is that there aren’t so many scientists available in the world to work on all the wonderful, shiny, exciting things. And cannabis doesn’t look shiny and exciting to most scientists. It looks like, ‘Oh, this is highly regulated, and it’s got problems.’” 

This is why it’s important for people and scientists to be open-minded, Chiu continues. “I view chemical compounds from nature as beautiful things. I think that we, as human beings, don’t quite understand all of that.” 

When Chiu first started working on this cannabis press patent, he was hesitant at first because of the stigma. How would this association with cannabis potentially affect his government clearances, his work as a teacher and tutor, or even the “Dr. Wholesome’s Academy” he founded in 2018?

“But the reality is that there shouldn’t be any hesitation. It’s like, would I have hesitated in working on H1N1? No, there was no hesitation. It was good for my resume,” he explains. 

Chiu believes that a lot of talented scientists – more than we might imagine – are reluctant to work in cannabis because of the stigma. “And I think that there hasn’t been a force to correct that. It’s like a scientist saying ‘Oh, I don’t want to work in batteries, because it might leave a mark on my resume.’”

To Chiu’s scientific mind, there should be no stigma around cannabis, especially when other scientists consider bringing their skill sets to this emerging industry and to a plant that has proven to add value to peoples’ lives and to public health in many different ways.

“We need to protect what we have, cherish what we have. The cannabis industry has gotten to where it is … how do we take it further so that it can be something that is completely different, you know?”

The Bluntness is gearing up for big things. Don't miss out! Sign Up for our email list to stay in the loop.

(This article was originally published with Green Flower by Gregory Frye on July 22, 2020.)

More For You

Coffee & Weed: A Modern Spin on the Hippie Speedball - The Bluntness

Coffee & Weed: A Modern Spin on the Hippie Speedball - The Bluntness

Coffee & Weed: A Modern Spin on the Hippie Speedball

The wake n’ bake strategy – a well known, stoner approved method for mornings when we need a little somethin’ to pick us up and level us out. When paired with coffee, this method is called the Hippie Speedball, providing a little boost to help you power through your day.

This creative way to describe the pairing of coffee and cannabis is a tried and true method of increasing popularity in our American society that consumes over 400 million cups of coffee per day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Movies That Impacted Stoner Culture
Movies That Impacted Stoner Culture
The Bluntness, Inc.

The Evolution Of The Classic Stoner Character in Movies and TV


It’s taken TV and movies featuring stoner characters a long time to catch up with the reality of marijuana culture in the United States. Historically, Hollywood has ignored cannabis all together, then demonized it, misrepresented it, and used it as an easy punchline, before finally giving way to the more nuanced, low-key reality of life in a country where over half its states have legalized the drug for medical or recreational use.

Here, The Bluntness charts the changing depiction of marijuana users in film and TV over the last 85 years or so, and digs in to what these stoner movies might tell us about the changing cultural attitudes around pot in pop culture.

Keep ReadingShow less
Weed Makes Me Introspective: When Cannabis Causes Us to Reconsider Our Life Choices

Weed Makes Me Introspective: When Cannabis Causes Us to Reconsider Our Life Choices

Pot Prompts Self-Reflection

Being stoned comes with a wealth of side effects – some of which are just part of the fun, while others have been known to get smeared all over a person’s psyche, causing them to gawk out the window every thirty seconds to see if the cops are coming up the stairs.

Perhaps the least discussed byproduct of the bud, however, is its uncanny ability to send the user into a maddening state of introspection. Cannabis can make individuals more attuned to their bodily sensations, emotions, and inner thoughts, which can contribute to this introspective state. Weed can often inspire the high-minded to start questioning their life choices, setting them on a path of self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-destruction.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Epic Mag Landrace Cannabis from Iran - The Bluntness

The Epic Mag Landrace Cannabis from Iran - The Bluntness

Iranian Weed: Epic Mag Strain

The sprawling mountains of Iran bloom with native flora every year: elms and ironwood trees, tulips and daffodils, even something called Dwarf Eelgrass. But scattered throughout the forests and flowerbeds, like in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan, another flower has been thriving for thousands of years: cannabis.

Through Iranian genetics sourcing, cannabis in Iran is collected from specific regions, emphasizing the unique and wild plant varieties. Mag Landrace is just one of the Persian nation’s homegrown strains, beloved for its intense indica effects, deep green and purple hues, and abundance of trichomes, resins and oils that make it ideal for smoking and hash-making. It’s finally in the states and available for patients and casual users alike to discover and delight in, and here’s why.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sex on shrooms is not for everyone, although certainly worth a try -- perhaps with a bit of guidance first.
Sex on shrooms is not for everyone, although certainly worth a try -- perhaps with a bit of guidance first.

Sex on Shrooms: How to Prepare Yourself

If you've tripped on psilocybin (a.k.a., magic mushrooms) before, you're already well aware what an intense experience it can be. And if shrooms can take an average activity like listening to music to an entirely different universe, you can probably imagine what sex on shrooms might feel like.

As intense and amazing as mushroom sex can be, it can also be an incredibly negative experience if you're not careful. Most psychotropic substances are best experienced when you curate the right set and setting, and sex on magic mushrooms is no different.

Keep ReadingShow less