Slashdot Mirror


Tylenol May Kill Kindness (washingtonpost.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader randomErr writes: In research published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience scientists describe the results of two experiments conducted involving more than 200 college students.Their conclusion is that acetaminophen can reduce a person's capacity to empathize with another person's pain. "We don't know why acetaminophen is having these effects, but it is concerning," senior author Baldwin Way, an Ohio State University psychologist, said. One of the studies has half the group consume a liquid with acetaminophen while the other group received a placebo. The group that drink the acetaminophen thought that people they read about experiencing pain was not as severe as the placebo group thought.
The Washington Post notes that acetaminophen is the most common drug ingredient in the United States, adding that "about a quarter of all Americans take acetaminophen every week."

2 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. Uh Oh... by lobiusmoop · · Score: 4, Insightful
    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
    1. Re:Uh Oh... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      These are not people who have a choice - not when premiums jump 5x or more. In the case of someone with metastatic cancer, premiums will be $140k a year. Just how many patients, already coping with severe diseases, can make that sort of coin? How are the 1.4 million in retirement homes supposed to pay? It's not like ther are jobs outside of congress and the senate for sclerotic people suffering from dementia.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.