The Medical Benefits of Carbon Monoxide

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 17, 2009 @05:26AM from the my-garage-is-my-laboratory dept.

tugfoigel writes with this excerpt from the Boston Globe: "For more than a century, carbon monoxide has been known as a deadly toxin. In an 1839 story, Edgar Allan Poe wrote of 'miraculous lustre of the eye' and 'nervous agitation' in what some believe are descriptions of carbon monoxide poisoning, and today, cigarette cartons warn of its health dangers. But a growing body of research, much of it by local scientists, is revealing a paradox: the gas often called a silent killer could also be a medical treatment. It seems like a radical contradiction, but animal studies show that in small, extremely controlled doses the gas has benefits in everything from infections to organ transplantation."

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Gee whiz! by mcsnee · 2009-10-17 05:31 · Score: 5, Insightful

Something that is bad for us in high doses may be beneficial in low doses?! Next they'll be telling us that exposure to radiation and toxins can help cure cancer, or that the same stuff that rusts away unprotected steel and iron is actually necessary for animal life!
1. Re:Gee whiz! by xTantrum · 2009-10-17 05:43 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  seriously people this isn't that "paradoxical". Chem 101. As (arsenic) is also deadly but its also an essential biological trace element. Its about moderation.
  Sometimes i can't believe i still surf this place.
  
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