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Science
Would Not Abuse at All: AsapSCIENCE Explores the Science of Super Strength [Video]
Come on, admit it -- we've all fantasized about having superhuman strength at one point or another. Having the sort of car-tossing, Mjolnir-swinging, evildoers cowering before your might sort of strength we've all seen in comic books may be out of the question, sure, but science is helping us learn more and more about how we get strong, and that understanding could help us get better at getting stronger. In their latest video, AsapSCIENCE explains what it takes to reach that goal, why some people naturally have greater muscle mass than others, and how new technologies could make super strength a reality in the future. You won't even need to be bitten by a radioactive spider.
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Weird
Colorado Kids Hospitalized After Snacking on Pot Cookies
This right here, folks? This is why we can't have nice things. A recent study published online by JAMA Pediatrics found that one hospital in Colorado is dealing with a new medical phenomenon in the wake of marijuana being approved for medicinal use in the state -- children being hospitalized after unwittingly snacking on their parents' therapeutic pot brownies.
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Tech
Drones Could Join The War On Drugs, Navy Tests New Aerial Tools
Some technology currently being used during battle in places like Afghanistan could soon find its way into the war on drugs. This weekend the U.S. Navy tested several items they hope could help them stop drug smugglers out on the open seas. The technology they're using isn't exactly new, but with sequester budget cuts in place, the Navy is getting creative.
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Science
New Treatment Could Blast Cocaine Addiction Out of the Brain With Lasers
Cocaine addiction is notoriously difficult to treat, but researchers working on ways to fight it may have a unexpected new weapon in their arsenal -- lasers. Recent research in the field of optogenetics suggests that using lasers to turn certain parts of the brain on and off could help to curb addicts craving for the drug. Take that, cocaine addiction! Pew pew pew!
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Tech
New York Pill Bottles Get GPS Tags to Combat Drug Theft
Crimes related to the theft of pharmaceuticals are a growing problem in and around New York City. Have no fear, though -- the city's police department has the answer, and it's only mostly a George Orwell wet dream. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced today that the NYPD would take the unprecedented step of attaching GPS tags to prescription pill bottles, allowing the bottles -- and the person they're with -- to be tracked in the event that the drugs are stolen.Read on... -
Uncategorized
It’s Dangerous To Go Alone! Solo Pop Stars Twice As Likely To Die Young As Those In Bands
Rock stars and pop idols are well known for their propensity to live hard, die young, and leave behind a grotesquely booze-swollen corpse. According to a study in the journal BMJ Open, though, solo music stars are twice as likely to die young as entertainers who make their name as part of a band. Presumably, this is because while being part of a band has the detrimental effect of meaning you always have someone around to help you mainline a shot of Jack, it also means that there's someone awake enough to call the amublance when that goes pretty much the only way it can.Read on... -
Uncategorized
We May Have Finally Figured Out What Makes The Placebo Response Tick
For as large a role as it plays in modern medicine -- from testing to treatment -- the mechanics of the placebo effect remain a remarkably ill-understood mystery. A team of researchers at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School may have just had a break in the case, though. According to a study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers have identified the first ever genetic difference between patients who respond to placeboes and patients who don't. Finding a genetic marker for the placebo effect might impact how some diseases are treated, but its real value could be in revolutionizing the way clinical trials are conducted and new drugs are approved for use.Read on... -
Uncategorized
Amazon Makes No Profit on Kindle Sales, Follows Drug Addiction Sales Model
The trick to being a drug dealer, or so I'm told, is understanding that one must build a clientele. The key to financial success is to offer a taste for free in order to hook folks. You're want to provide a service, after all, not just score a single sale. This mindset is also apparently shared by Amazon, as they make no profit on the sales of their Kindle Fire HD or Paperwhite. Amazon's profits instead come from the odds and ends purchased via these platforms.
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Uncategorized
Dude, Have You Ever, Like, Thought About How Pot Works In Your Brain? This Is How
With marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in several states this year, it looks like the country might be on the verge of deciding, yeah, maybe smoking some pot shouldn't be a reason for a person to spend years of their life in prison. You know, on account of how stupid that notion is right on its face. So there's no better time than now for ASAP Science take a look at how marijuana actually works in your brain.Read on... -
Uncategorized
Ancient Chinese Secret: Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Cures Tied to Spirtiuality
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has no grounding in science, reality, facts, or even fact-shaped objects. It couldn't be mistaken for science from across a crowded room in poor light. It is, for all intents and purposes, bunk of the highest order. Here's the frustrating thing, though -- in spite of all of that, it tends to work surprisingly well for some patients. A new survey shows that the resilience of the techniques, like acupuncture, may be closely tied to the spirituality of patients, suggesting that it may be more effective for people with a strong belief in the principles at play.Read on... -
Uncategorized
Fine-Tuning Drugs With Sonic Levitation Is As Cool As It Sounds
Nope, it's not an illusion or a trick -- that's just what it looks like when you suspend particles of a liquid in mid-air using an awesome technique known as acoustic levitation. Those two pedestals are actually speakers, transmitting sound waves at 22 khz -- just outside the range that humans can hear. By transmitting waves that interfere with one another perfectly, scientists can create points in the wave form where no energy is transferred, effectively canceling out gravity at that point, called a node. Pretty cool right? You have no idea -- hit the jump to for video of acoustic levitation doing it's thing, which is totally spectacular.Read on... -
Uncategorized
Mathematical Model Reassures Us That Placebo Effect Is Still Awesome, Confusing
We're getting better at understanding how our bodies and minds work every day, but one key factor binding both together remains a mystery. For all our new understanding of genetics, nanotechnology, and other new treatments, the placebo effect remains a mystery to us -- and a powerful one at that. Biology and mathematics researchers at the University of Bristol have published the results of a series of mathematical models that give some weight to the theory that the placebo effect is an evolutionary adaptation -- the result of our bodies' immune systems not running at full speed all the time to conserve energy.
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Uncategorized
The U.S. Military is Designing Anti-Suicide Spray
A scientist from the Indiana University School of Medicine has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Army to design a nasal spray that should suppress thoughts of suicide. Unfortunately, it makes perfect sense that the military would be looking into alternative methods to keep soldiers from killing themselves. According to RT, 116 U.S. soldiers have died of suspected suicide in 2012, and the army currently has the highest recorded rate of suicide in its history.
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Uncategorized
Wake Up With a 5-Hour PCP [Video]
Have trouble getting up in the morning? Try a 5-Hour PCP. "It'll get you through the day, you just won't remember how!" And if that doesn't cut it, go for the gallon.
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Uncategorized
The Incredible Hulk Caught Selling Cocaine in Order to Get the Cocaine Away From Him
Scott Andersen was caught selling cocaine in Coventry, England. The reason why this isn't a normal drugdealer story is because Andersen was painted green, posing as the Incredible Hulk. What's weirder, when caught attempting to deal the drugs, Andersen claimed to be selling the drugs because, ever the shrewd shopper, he didn't want them anymore and was trying to get his money back on his initial purchase of said drugs. As one wouldn't be surprised to find out, Andersen was also drunk, and when arrested, was found to have marijuana on his person as well, which one can only assume he had because it's green just like he was! Because he's the Incredible Hulk, you know?
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