Sad news from the spoilsports at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg this week.
For some reason they’ve found out that a compound called exendin-4 reduces the craving for chocolate and other foods. Not only is that taking away one of life’s great pleasures, but to compound the horror the drug is synthesised from the saliva of the Gila Monster, a distant relative of the Cookie Monster. Probably.
“Our decision to eat is linked to the same mechanisms in the brain which control addictive behaviours,” Karolina Skibicka told the Journal of Neuroscience.
“We have shown that exendin-4 affects the reward and motivation regions of the brain.”
This has clinical applications in suppressing temptation to compulsively overeat, say researchers, but for the rest of us it’s a bit like cutting off your arms so you don’t pick up a beer. Next week, scientists hope to isolate a compound that gives people an electric shock every time they even think about having fun.
Body heat
Better news comes from Harvard University, where Yuki Sato and Supradeep Narayana have been researching devices which can run on thermal energy, that is, heat.
“Heat current, like electric current, should be viewed as a medium that can be manipulated, controlled, and processed,” study author Yuki told Stuff.
In principle, therefore, a thermal computer could eventually be constructed which runs off waste heat in the environment, including that produced by the human body. Which means that in the future, in order to get online, we’ll have a bar of chocolate. Take that, Swedish science! More body mods from Dave Hurban of Gloucester County, US, who has embedded four magnets in his wrist so he can wear an iPod Nano without using straps. Not a surprise to note that he’s a tattoo artist, but we bet he causes all sorts of problems when he tries to get through security at airports.
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