Treating pain is a tricky business—especially when it comes to the chronic, perpetually debilitating type. For things like back injuries, osteoarthritis, and bone cancer, you’re really only left with two options: deal with the often dangerous, unpredictable side-effects of prescription painkillers or suffer through it. But all that might change soon thanks to a Moroccan "cactuslike plant" and its toxin’s potential to kill localized pain—forever.
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The human brain is capable of producing a staggering variety of hormones to regulate everything from appetite to pain resistance. Among the most potent of these neuromodulatory lipids is endogenous μ-opioid, a pain-killing chemical on par with morphine but produced naturally, in minute amounts, by our motor cortices. And, thanks to a study in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), researchers can induce the brain to release μ-opioid on command. More »
Morphine—glorious, glorious morphine—is among the world’s most potent painkillers, able to make you forget about that broken leg or split open skull. But what if something that generally causes death could be transformed into something that aided the body in recovery? Scientists believe they’ve discovered the element in Black Mamba venom that does just that. More »
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