Posted by
Hemos
on from the no-more-fun-smoking dept.
jambolaya writes "BBC News have a story about a new "vaccine" for nicotine addiction. It works by preventing nicotine from reaching the brain and hence it has no effect (on the brain, i.e. no buzz). Great news for those of us with the will and conviction of a damp flannel."
I don't get it either, my guess, though...
by
boarder
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
I was thinking exactly the same thing. I even read the article in case I missed the point. I am not a biologist or medically knowledgable past basic science, so maybe I did miss something. Maybe there's some biochemical process in addiction that this is ACTUALLY referring to and not just stopping the nicotine from entering the brain. Perhaps there is a part of the brain that feeds off the nicotine and a part of the brain that continues the addiction. This vaccine might allow the nicotine to work into the blood system and to the addicted areas, but not into the section of the brain that actually "creates" the addiction.
This is all just pseudo-science and conjecture on my part, but it's the only way I can justify this vaccine. The other way is that maybe the physical addiction is in another part of the body to which the blood stream delivers the nicotine, but the CAUSE of that addiction is in the brain.
Slashdot Mirror
This is all just pseudo-science and conjecture on my part, but it's the only way I can justify this vaccine. The other way is that maybe the physical addiction is in another part of the body to which the blood stream delivers the nicotine, but the CAUSE of that addiction is in the brain.
IANAL, but I play one on