Nanotech 'Sober Pill' Could One Day De-Drunk You

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
I guess something like this could come in handy if you found yourself without a designated driver but, aside from that, this is just another example of technology gone wrong. ;)

"We show that nanocomplexes containing alcohol oxidase and catalase could reduce blood alcohol levels in intoxicated mice, offering an alternative antidote and prophylactic for alcohol intoxication," the scientists write. Their method essentially kicks up a body's ability to metabolize alcohol into overdrive.
Click to expand...
 
This probably kicks your diabetes into overdrive. The body has a tough enough time as it is metabolizing alcohol properly.
 
Alcoholics everywhere rejoice! No annoying side effects to stop you from binging.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
This probably kicks your diabetes into overdrive. The body has a tough enough time as it is metabolizing alcohol properly.
Click to expand...

That was the first thing I thought of. Instead of wrecking your liver, you get to mess with your pancreas as well!
 
Timing woul dbe the biggest problem with this. Wont work if you puke it up for example.
 
As others have noted, while this clearly works to lower blood alcohol levels it probably has a cost. The alcohol dehydrogenase used here performs the first step in alcohol metabolism, but generates acetaldehyde -- a highly reactive compound that can cause the type of oxidative stress associated with generation of cancer cells. So congratulations, your blood alcohol level dropped but you just spiked you blood with a cancer causing chemical. Of course, adding the additional metabolic enzymes to the delivery would allow for the degradation of acetaldehyde, but I'm still not sure it's a great idea.

I think that this paper does show that they can deliver in-tact and functional enzymes into a living organism. This is no trivial feat and not at all something to laugh about -- there are many diseases that result from specific protein deficiencies that could potentially be mitigated by such treatment. The idea of an 'instant sobriety treatment' seems more of a gimmick to get the study recognized by the broader press.
 
Wow, out of all the fantastic ways to implement nanotechnology a "sober pill" makes the headlines? As a scientist, and a human being, this makes me sad.
 
BoogerBomb said:
Alcoholics everywhere rejoice! No annoying side effects to stop you from binging.
Click to expand...
You would still have side effects all the same. After all, your alcohol is long since metabolized by the time you wake up in the morning, but you have a hangover. This is caused by dehydration (alcohol is a diuretic, you retain less water and generally urinate more water than you take in), drop in blood sugar, immune system responses, and congeners (this is why you are MUCH more likely to get a hangover from whiskey than vodka).

Now if you took a sober pill WHILE you were drinking alcohol, perhaps there would be no symptoms, but then again whats the point? You'd just be drinking foul tasting expensive drinks that never got you buzzed.
 
Ducman69 said:
Now if you took a sober pill WHILE you were drinking alcohol, perhaps there would be no symptoms, but then again whats the point? You'd just be drinking foul tasting expensive drinks that never got you buzzed.
Click to expand...

Win every drinking contest, make mad $$.
 
pcjunkie said:
I just want a cure for hangovers... :(
Click to expand...

That's easy: water. Stay hydrated all the time and you won't get hangovers. I never do. Or, you could also drink about a gallon of water shortly before you start drinking, pee a lot, and be without a hangover. Or, you could alternate between a shot and a half glass of water.
 
Steve said:
I guess something like this could come in handy if you found yourself without a designated driver but, aside from that, this is just another example of technology gone wrong. ;)
Click to expand...

"Gone wrong"?? Heck no! This is technology gone very right! It might actually keep me from embarrassing myself at a bar, for once.
 
pcjunkie said:
I just want a cure for hangovers... :(
Click to expand...

agreed.....that's where the money is!

Although it's not so much hangovers with me, it's cotton mouth. Any hangover I might get is easily dealt with with a few cups of coffee and a couple of advil.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long before everyone starts getting ads for these things in their inbox?
 
Ducman69 said:
You would still have side effects all the same. After all, your alcohol is long since metabolized by the time you wake up in the morning, but you have a hangover. This is caused by dehydration (alcohol is a diuretic, you retain less water and generally urinate more water than you take in), drop in blood sugar, immune system responses, and congeners (this is why you are MUCH more likely to get a hangover from whiskey than vodka).

Now if you took a sober pill WHILE you were drinking alcohol, perhaps there would be no symptoms, but then again whats the point? You'd just be drinking foul tasting expensive drinks that never got you buzzed.
Click to expand...

Why are you drinking foul tasting drinks? I never understood that...There are so many drinks that taste amazing and people seem to drink the shitty ones.

Getting drunk is dumb...I drink and I haven't gotten drunk or had a hangover in 15 years.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Why are you drinking foul tasting drinks? I never understood that...There are so many drinks that taste amazing and people seem to drink the shitty ones.

Getting drunk is dumb...I drink and I haven't gotten drunk or had a hangover in 15 years.
Click to expand...

Agreed with most of that. My rule of thumb is to never mix refined sugar (or corn syrup) and drinks. If I want whisky, it comes in a glass with an icecube in it, no silly mixer. No energy drinks, no salt, no sugar, no hangover.
 
This sober pill has been around for decades. It's called Bud Light. The mostly notable side effect in males is the development of a vagina.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Why are you drinking foul tasting drinks?
Click to expand...
I said buzzed, not drunk, and hardly anyone would be buying those six dollar drinks at the bar if it weren't for the intoxicating effect. If you want alcohol free, just buy a coke.
 
heatlesssun said:
I want a pill to make me drunk in the first place, drinking takes too much time.
Click to expand...
It takes too long to down a bottle of straight spirits? You are either the slowest drinker in the world or the most alcohol tolerant person in the world. Or maybe you need some systems more efficient than MS ones if you don't have 30 seconds to swallow a few shots :p
 
Wouldn't this also combat liver disease as it's eating the toxins before it gets to the liver? (I'm not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one on tv)
 
Ducman69 said:
I said buzzed, not drunk, and hardly anyone would be buying those six dollar drinks at the bar if it weren't for the intoxicating effect. If you want alcohol free, just buy a coke.
Click to expand...

Same thing, call it what you like. If it results in a hangover you were drunk even if mildly. Like I said, I drink but haven't had a hangover in years. It is easy to have a good time without the side effects.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top