Mice Get Drunk For Science, May Help Humans Sober Up
Getting rodents wasted may lead to a cure for human inebriation.
Researchers at UCLA may have figured out a working cure for drunkenness, and no, it doesn't involved sitting in a room by yourself for 12 hours. According to a new study that appears in the publication Nature Nanotechnology, scientists are testing a new nanocapsule capable of digesting alcohol all on its own, and the first test subjects were drunken lab mice.
The inebriated rodents were give a new type of injection that includes two different enzymes encased within microscopic capsules; The first enzyme processes the alcohol but also produces dangerous hydrogen peroxide, while the second enzyme breaks down the hydrogen peroxide to protect the host. When given to the lab mice, the blood-alcohol levels of the adorable drunks plummeted, sobering them up in a hurry.
The primary goal of the research was to prove the legitimacy of the nanocapsule delivery method, which has the potential to revolutionize the way drugs are administered. With that objective seemingly accomplished, the scientists will continue their work in the hopes of creating an orally administered drunkenness cure for humans. Let's hope their research is completed by next New Year's Eve.
Source: Nature Nanotechnology [http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2012.264.html]
Image credit: dullhunk [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/7095792663/sizes/m/in/photostream/]
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Getting rodents wasted may lead to a cure for human inebriation.
Researchers at UCLA may have figured out a working cure for drunkenness, and no, it doesn't involved sitting in a room by yourself for 12 hours. According to a new study that appears in the publication Nature Nanotechnology, scientists are testing a new nanocapsule capable of digesting alcohol all on its own, and the first test subjects were drunken lab mice.
The inebriated rodents were give a new type of injection that includes two different enzymes encased within microscopic capsules; The first enzyme processes the alcohol but also produces dangerous hydrogen peroxide, while the second enzyme breaks down the hydrogen peroxide to protect the host. When given to the lab mice, the blood-alcohol levels of the adorable drunks plummeted, sobering them up in a hurry.
The primary goal of the research was to prove the legitimacy of the nanocapsule delivery method, which has the potential to revolutionize the way drugs are administered. With that objective seemingly accomplished, the scientists will continue their work in the hopes of creating an orally administered drunkenness cure for humans. Let's hope their research is completed by next New Year's Eve.
Source: Nature Nanotechnology [http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2012.264.html]
Image credit: dullhunk [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/7095792663/sizes/m/in/photostream/]
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