Any tool can be used for good or bad ... such as a hammer, which can be used as a weapon and to kill, or to build houses for the homeless. I am totally against any tool if there is great potential to use it for harm, or for it to fall into bad hands. I am for any tool that can be used for good things, and used safely. And if we must have hammers, and they are unavoidable, then I push for the latter case of good and safe uses.
I am not about "genes genes genes," far from it. It is actually a small part of what I am discussing. I reject that technology now, and for any time in the future, unless and until it someday, somehow, with further advances, becomes as safe as a "tummy tuck" at the plastic surgeon or a root canal or hip replacement. But that seems unlikely. Gene therapy is too dangerous now for common use, and will remain so for a long time, assuming that it ever becomes safe and effective. If it did become possible, and the technology unavoidable, only them should we use the technology wisely and for good.
Instead, I am for the use of any and every tool, from hammers to other wonderful tools of the near future which science and medicine will provide, which can be used for good. My book touches on many such tools, and there are many ways to improve society, lessen killing and violence, increase charity and caring that have nothing to do with genetics at all. One of my favorites imaginings is an alcohol or other substance that is non-addictive (and might even have addiction curative properties), where the "high" can be turned off at will, where the inebriation always stays at "pleasant" and never runs to "fall off the stool, bar fight, get behind the wheel, beat your spouse angry," where the loving and friendly aspects stay, but not the negative excesses. (Yes, I know that Star Trek was way ahead of me on this.
) A simple change like that, and a cure for physiological addictions, would save so many millions of ruined lives in this world, and do much to combat the Buddhist poisons of anger, violence, addiction ... Does it sound like fantasy?
Well, I hope that Dr. Nutt is not a nut ...
One of the U.K.’s leading neuropsychopharmacologists has published an op-ed in The Guardian detailing his research efforts to come up with a synthetic, non-addictive substitute for alcohol. David Nutt’s hope is to do for alcohol what e-cigarettes have done for smoking. Nutt has identified five chemical compounds that target the same neurotransmitter system in the brain as alcohol, leaving people feeling relaxed and friendly. These compounds also present the possibility for concocting an antidote that would instantly sober you up.
... "We know that the main target for alcohol in the brain is the neurotransmitter system gamma aminobutyric acid (Gaba), which keeps the brain calm. Alcohol therefore relaxes users through mimicking and increasing the Gaba function. But we also know that there are a range of Gaba subsystems that can be targeted by selective drugs. So in theory we can make an alcohol surrogate that makes people feel relaxed and sociable and remove the unwanted effects, such as aggression and addictiveness." ...
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...s-closer-think
... "We know that the main target for alcohol in the brain is the neurotransmitter system gamma aminobutyric acid (Gaba), which keeps the brain calm. Alcohol therefore relaxes users through mimicking and increasing the Gaba function. But we also know that there are a range of Gaba subsystems that can be targeted by selective drugs. So in theory we can make an alcohol surrogate that makes people feel relaxed and sociable and remove the unwanted effects, such as aggression and addictiveness." ...
https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...s-closer-think
Professor David Nutt keeps a litre bottle behind him on the shelf in his office. Inside is a molecular compound called Alcarelle that he has spent two years developing in an underground lab with fellow scientists. He hopes it will soon, if approved by regulators, allow people to get a bit drunk, without any of the downsides.
As an alternative to ethanol, the core ingredient of most alcoholic drinks, Nutt claims that synthetic alcohol Alcarelle would see people enjoying the positive effects of booze – the buzz, the relaxation, the lowering of inhibitions when talking to strangers at a party – without the health implications, without losing control, and without the dread-filled hangovers.
“Alcohol is my favourite drug, and it has the huge benefit of helping us socialise as humans, but we’ve been brainwashed by the drinks industry into thinking that it’s not bad for us,” says 71-year-old Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, who was the UK Government’s drugs adviser under New Labour but was sacked in 2009 by home secretary Alan Johnson for claiming that alcohol is more dangerous than ecstasy or LSD.
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...nsides-2088768
As an alternative to ethanol, the core ingredient of most alcoholic drinks, Nutt claims that synthetic alcohol Alcarelle would see people enjoying the positive effects of booze – the buzz, the relaxation, the lowering of inhibitions when talking to strangers at a party – without the health implications, without losing control, and without the dread-filled hangovers.
“Alcohol is my favourite drug, and it has the huge benefit of helping us socialise as humans, but we’ve been brainwashed by the drinks industry into thinking that it’s not bad for us,” says 71-year-old Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, who was the UK Government’s drugs adviser under New Labour but was sacked in 2009 by home secretary Alan Johnson for claiming that alcohol is more dangerous than ecstasy or LSD.
https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/...nsides-2088768
The concept of synthetic alcohol has potential, says Margie Skeer, an associate professor of public health and community medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. “Any time that we can reduce harm associated with the things that we do on a daily basis is a positive thing.” However, “the public really needs to be cautious with new products that promise all of the good of a vice without the negative side effects,” she says. “We don’t have any research. We don’t have any data.”
https://time.com/6131012/synthetic-a...alth-benefits/
https://time.com/6131012/synthetic-a...alth-benefits/
Gassho, J
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