Has a Scientific Hangover Cure Been Discovered?

Joanne Camas

British professor David Nutt hopes so. He's researching how alcohol copies the brain's system for calming and relaxing us, and says he's close to inventing a synthetic formula that would give you the buzz of a few drinks without the scourge of that morning-after hangover.

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As a bonus: You'd be able to pop an antidote when you had to sober up to drive home or return to the office after a liquid lunch. The Daily Mail quotes claims Nutt makes on his blog: "After one possible compound, I was quite relaxed and sleepily inebriated for an hour or so, then within minutes of taking the antidote I was up giving a lecture with no impairment whatsoever."

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Nutt, who's the head of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College in London, says his new drinks would be safer and more social, cutting out the problems of addiction and aggressive behavior.

Critics point out that drinkers enjoy the actual taste and nuances of their beverages, and also that without the traditional ill effects of consuming too much alcohol, people might not realize they were overimbibing and damaging their health.

Stay tuned. Nutt has to raise funds for more research before we'll be raising glasses of his potions.

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