Solastalgia and Orexin A, coin new words, make new drugs.

Posted by Steve Hanna on January 3rd, 2008 filed in Technical Tags: , , , , , , ,

Two very interesting articles I found while browsing wired.

Clive Thompson on How the Next Victim of Climate Change Will Be Our Minds
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-01/st_thompson

Australia is suffering through its worst dry spell in a millennium. The outback has turned into a dust bowl, crops are dying off at fantastic rates, cities are rationing water, coral reefs are dying, and the agricultural base is evaporating.

But what really intrigues Glenn Albrecht — a philosopher by training — is how his fellow Australians are reacting.

They’re getting sad.

This seems like a plausible phenomenon to me but I think it would be interesting to know the demographic and sample size he used to make these assertions. In addition, it would be nice to know how much of the continent is suffering. I’m not accusing them of being sensationalists but a few more facts would have made this story a but better. I have suffered from seasonal depression (not anymore, goodbye midwest forever!) and I think a lot of people have as well. I can only imagine this feeling as being many times more intense but coupled with a feeling of hopelessness knowing that the terrain which one calls home will never be the same again. Scary.

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/sleep_deprivation

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.

A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests.

I advocate caffeine, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, etc. etc., sleep is a major barrier when one is trying to accomplish something. In fact, I often feel like sleep is a complete waste of time but like the author of the article, I would have a hard time advocating a drug that eliminated the need for sleep entirely; sleep suspends all but changes nothing. The idea of long term sleep deprivation is kind of terrifying and I don’t even want to imagine the long term effects. However, it might be fun to try when I run out of espresso.

Leave a Comment