The Next Wave Of Smart Drugs

The Next Wave Of Smart Drugs

How will tomorrow’s pharmaceuticals boost your brainpower?

A Drug That Can Make Your Old Memories Like New


There are drugs that help you remember what you learn, and ones that erase your memory. But until now, there have no substances with the power to enhance and strengthen old memories hovering on the brink of being forgotten. Now a group of neuroscientsts say they’ve isolated a single enzyme in the brain that can help long-term memories remain crisp in your mind. More »[imgclear]

A Drug Discovered In The Soil Of Easter Island Could Cure Alzheimer’s


Rapamycin is a bacterial byproduct discovered in the soil of Easter Island. It extends the lives of animals, and now two independent studies show that it can reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Is this the drug we’ve been waiting for? More »[imgclear]

A Chemical That Improves Memory (and Cures Loneliness)


Social isolation makes people stressed out and forgetful, but soon a drug could cure this problem. Late last year, scientists isolated a brain enzyme that triggers the “loneliness” feelings during periods of solitude. Replenishing that enzyme in the brain could enhance memory and relieve stress when you’re spending a lot of time by yourself working (or space travelling). More »[imgclear]

A Drug That Could Give You Perfect Visual Memory


Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see. More »[imgclear]

The “Trust Me” Drug That Makes You Take Social Risks


What if you could convince people to trust you and take risks for you with just a few drops of liquid surreptitiously placed in their water? There would be no drunkenness, no rufie-esque glazed eyes: just pure, human trust created via chemicals. The person wouldn’t even know they’d been dosed. More »[imgclear]

Anti-Anxiety Drug Could Create Super-Soldiers


Soon you may be able to buy a drug that can make you calm by mimicking the body’s natural self-soothing process. But you wouldn’t feel drugged. What would happen to people who suddenly became fearless without side-effects? More »[imgclear]

One Pill Makes You Autistic – And One Pill Changes You Back


Need to finish that work project, and wish you had the mental intensity to do it? Just take a synapse-regulating inhibitor, induce temporary autism, and you’ll want to ignore your friends and do nothing but number-crunching for days. Autism-inducers could become as popular as Provigil among the geek set by 2020. More »[imgclear]

Top image: Shutterstock.


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