Somewhere out in the universe, a Jurassic Park-era Jeff Goldblum is espousing the dangers of our scientists getting so caught up on whether they could that they never considered whether they should. Which is a pretty fair sentiment when you first hear about this ‘hangover-free’ alcohol substitute that will still get you certifiably drunk.
Research and development is well underway on a substance that recreates the effects of regular old alcohol without the hangovers or long-term damage. And within the next five years, the substance may become commercially available to us lowly sesh gremlins.
Known as Alcarelle, this entire endeavour began when David Nutt – director of the neuropsychopharmacological department at Imperial College, London – sought out an antidote for alcohol. Something that would reverse a drunken state.
The antidote proved to be a dead-end, being “… far too risky to be used in clinical trials…” given the possibility of causing seizures if consumed while sober. It did, however, help Nutt discern what critical hit points were necessary for recreating a drunken state. And in a way that we now know will ditch the hangovers plus long-term health damage.
Regular alcohol targets the Gaba receptors, thereby “calming” the brain and bringing about some pretty awesome effects we all love to chase. You get braver as a person. Food just becomes inherently tastier. And your luck at the pokies is 75% more potent.
But it also brings some not-so-awesome effects. And not just the fact that calling your ex 3 AM on a damn Tuesday seems like a reasonable idea. The beauty of Alcarelle – it targets our Gaba receptors all the same… but without the negative effects.
So why the five-year wait? According to Nutt, it’s more of a regulatory issue than the science itself. These things have a tendency to be bogged down in the red tape of bureaucracy, hence why Alcarelle has not even gone through a safety trial as of yet. The plan, though, is to circumnavigate said red tape by introducing it to the market as a food additive.
As Nutt himself says to Business Insider, the ultimate ambition is to “… provide something to enjoy that is much less harmful…”. And to that, we at BH say godspeed, mate. Godspeed.
Read the original article from Business Insider Deutschland.
And find out more about this miracle elixir at alcarelle.com.
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