to your health
Most drugs don’t do anything significantly good or bad for most people who take them.
A brief exploration of NNT (number needed to treat) and NNH (number needed to heal). | learn more
Tag: drugs
under the microscope
Space travel and senolytics.
Senolytics are the class of drugs that target senescent cells (so-called “zombie cells”). While the basis for using these drugs to delay, prevent or reverse aging is still limited, there’s certainly a lot of excitement in the field. Also, there’s […]
fun facts
Higher than the shoulders of giants
Something happened in the early 1970s that led to dozens of unexplained trends. Many blame the US dropping the gold standard. This author blames a different policy that Nixon signed into law. This is a fascinating read. “New drugs lead to scientific […]
big ideas
How should we do drugs now?
Michael Pollan suggests we’ll need a cultural framework to guide our nation’s relationship with drugs now that “just say no” is no longer our guiding principle. He points to the many indigenous cultures that have used ritual to keep useful […]
under the microscope
Hunting for drugs in the guts of wild animals
“Over the last four years, Neta Raab and Ido Bachelet have received hundreds of padded cardboard boxes containing frozen poop from wild animals on five different continents.” | learn more
fun facts
How to launder Mexican drug money.
Sending pallets of cash across the border is risky. So, what’s a drug cartel to do? | learn more
book recommendations
Ten Drugs: How Plants, Powders, and Pills Have Shaped the History of Medicine
Author: Thomas Hager Before a drug can change the world, it must be discovered. Ten Drugs tells stories of these fateful discoveries. Taken together, they paint a picture of humanity’s long and complicated relationship with drugs. We often hear polarized […]
under the microscope
Liquid metal shredder kills superbugs without drugs
Hope is on the horizon for a new weapon against antibiotic resistance: “magnetic nanoparticles that physically tear them to shreds.” | learn more
under the microscope
Delivering drugs with bacteria
I stumbled across this while learning about how to deliver microbes beyond the treacherous environment of the stomach. “The new ‘bacteria in a pill’ approach does things differently. Instead of pumping out a drug and purifying it in the lab, […]
oh, chicago
Chicago police arrest 53 people in illegal guns and drugs sting
Sellers were active in private Facebook groups. The cops had to go undercover with fake names to join, and they’re a bit mad at Facebook because their fake accounts kept getting shut down. | learn more