One day, while listening to Public Radio to a program known as Science Friday , I heard a researcher tell about a drug that has been tested in mice that will block out the pleasure response in the brain when exposed to nicotine. Because several people I care about are addicted to nicotine, I found this discussion fascinating. As I listened I wondered how they conducted this experiment. I started to imagine these little mice in their laboratory cages puffing on cigarettes. Then I wondered whether they shoved a whole Winston in the critter’s mouth and lit it up or did they roll some teeny-tiny ones, just the right size. And how did they get the little mice to inhale? Did they put little clothespins on their noses so they’d have no choice but to breath in the smoke? The interviewer never asked these questions. I couldn’t imagine why not. The questions popped into my head within the first five minutes of the interview.
I don’t know. If the drug being tested on mice fails to work for humans, maybe something else good will come of the research. For example, they could take all of those tiny little cigarettes to create the new “Nicotine Barbie.”
Love your sense of humor, Judy!
Your immigration seems be running away with you. It did make me laugh. I have done research but not on animals. Its my understanding that the mice are feed injected with the nicotine. Research on mice wont automatically cross over to a human response. We are different but its a good stepping stone to being able to create a product that humans can use. I dont think this will be a good treatment by itself. People who are addicted to nicotine often have other problems that need to be dealt with too.