Narcotics Seller to Spend 20 Years behind Bars
	The concept of online pharmacies sounds pretty attractive because patients could receive medical advice without having to visit the doctor. However, Jorge Alan Rodriguez Sanchez took the online pharmacy idea to another level: he established an illegal drug store online in order to sell all kinds of prescription based drugs, including Xanax, Valium, Oxycontin and Vicodin, obviously, without prescription. For those of you who don&# ... [read more >>]
	26 May 2008, 05:17GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Night Club Hallucinogen, the Best Drug Against Depression
	Modern life and the rapid pace at which it evolves have created many unadapted individuals. At the moment, over 121 million people worldwide experience severe depression, which is also the main cause of suicide. Annually, more people commit suicide than are killed in wars, terrorist attacks and homicides. Worldwide, suicide levels have boomed by 60 % since WW II, reaching about 28 male and 7 female suicides per 100 000 people; even more, t ... [read more >>]
	06 May 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Paradox of Drug Addiction
	Except the case of toad toxins (which, anyway, are used as drugs by very few people), all addictive foods and drugs, from chocolate and caffeine to nicotine, heroin and cocaine, represent plant poisons. Plants normally synthesize toxins for impeding their consumption by herbivores, and this is the paradox: instead of this, humans and other mammals are not only not affected by these chemicals, but even become addicted to them. A new meta-an ... [read more >>]
	17 April 2008, 03:02GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Opioid Drugs Finish Up Your Sex Life
	Addiction is not just only severe issue with opioid drugs. Opioid drugs have been regarded as the perfect painkillers, but with one price: your sex life. These chemicals vary from morphine and heroin to papaverine, noscapine, cocaine and ephedrine. Their name comes from the fact that opioid drugs bind to specific opioid receptors in the central nervous system and in other tissues. The organism produces its own internal opioids, l ... [read more >>]
	16 April 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Brain of Your Child on Cocaine, Alcohol and Tobacco
	It's clear that exposing an unborn child to drugs, alcohol and tobacco affects its brain development. This is supported by too many researches. In these cases, mothers don't limit themselves to one substance, and other factors like poverty can affect brain development as well. A new research published in the journal "Pediatrics", and carried out by a team led by Children's Hospital Boston neurologist D ... [read more >>]
	14 April 2008, 03:48GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Secret for Big Muscles: Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen (Paracetamol)
	What is the connection between a cold and big muscles? Compared with a placebo drug, the daily-recommended dosages of ibuprofen and acetaminophen (paracetamol) have been found to induce a significant higher growth of quadriceps muscle mass and strength gained in three months of regular weight lifting, as revealed by a team from the Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, and presented at Experimental Biology 2008 in ... [read more >>]
	07 April 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

About Poisonous Mushrooms
	Without counting with the microscopic fungi, there are 3,800 species of mushrooms in Europe alone. 250 species are toxic but very few can kill: about 12 species. The same mushroom species can have various effects, depending on its age, consumed amount and the health state of the consumer. In France, three mushrooms are the main killers, making 98 % of the deadly cases: the death cap (Amanita phalloides), the fool's mushroom (Amanit ... [read more >>]
	02 April 2008, 16:46GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

10 Years of Viagra
	For ten years, the blue pill has been changing the lives of 35 millions men and women. Viagra is the result of an accident at Pfizer Laboratories. "Originally, we were testing sildenafil, the active drug in Viagra, as a cardiovascular drug and for its ability to lower blood pressure. But one thing that was found during those trials is that people didn't want to give the medication back because of the side effect of having ere ... [read more >>]
	26 March 2008, 17:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Mixes of Drugs and Pesticides Can Lead to Malformed Penises
	You think that dumping endless amounts of pesticides around and taking drugs indiscriminately will affect only the sex of fish, frogs and other species in the wild fauna? You're wrong: even the penis of your boy may be affected. Hormone mimicking chemicals, which can be relatively harmless alone when present in small doses, can turn into very nasty cocktails. A new research published in the International Journal of Andro ... [read more >>]
	26 February 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Nicotine Impacts the Same Brain Areas like Heroin
	Tobacco smokers may tend to see their habit as not being very healthy, but they don't realize they use a drug. Is it a drug? When a team checked what happened in the brain while smoking or taking opiate drugs (poppy-derived ones, like morphine, heroin, dihydromorphine, hydromorphone, anmain, codeine, thebaine, and papaverine), the results told an interesting story. The new study published in the "The Journal of Neuroscience&q ... [read more >>]
	18 February 2008, 04:51GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Top 25 Aromatherapy Plants
	1. Anise (Pimpinella anisum). It works against distensions, coughing, colics, gut and stomach spasms, low digestive secretions and dry mucosae, bronchitis; it stimulates lactation in new mothers. 2. Bergamot orange (Citrus x bergamia). It works against anxiety, irritability, stress, distension, gut infections, colics, vaginal infections, stomach cramps. It is good for scars, but it must not be applied on the skin before sun exposure. ... [read more >>]
	31 January 2008, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Breakthrough Method for Obtaining Milk with AntiCancer Drugs
	Milk is recommended for its significant amount of proteins, calcium and vitamins, but scientists thought to make the most of it. A new research published in the February 2008 print edition of "The FASEB Journal" comes with a breakthrough biotechnology that could bring us therapeutic proteins with the milk. The team at the University of Pennsylvania employed gene therapy to cut short the period necessary for animals ... [read more >>]
	31 January 2008, 05:21GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Aggression, Found to be More Rewarding Than Sex, Food and Drugs!
	In the case of some individuals, it seems that their brain is made by only one neuron for aggression. But this new research carried out at the Vanderbilt University and published in the journal Psychopharmacology has really surprising results: aggression can be more rewarding than sex, food and drugs, explaining the industry of millions of dollars around boxing, martial arts or K1. "Aggression occurs among virtually all v ... [read more >>]
	15 January 2008, 03:13GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

How Does Being Homeless Impact Sexual Life?
	Young people tend to defy social rules in any way. And new young homeless people, living in friends' homes, abandoned buildings or the streets, have just got rid of supervision and social support, fact that turns them more prone to risky sexual behavior, as revealed by a new UCLA AIDS Institute research, published on-line in the "Journal of Adolescent Health". Drug use was found to boost this behavior. Newly homeless you ... [read more >>]
	11 January 2008, 06:05GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Soon, an Anti-Cocaine Vaccine!
	Cocaine is deadlier than many viruses. And it surely destroys more lives. So, why not a vaccine against it? This is the aim of a couple of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston: the first-ever medication against cocaine addiction. "For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful. At some point, most users will give in to temptation and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine ... [read more >>]
	03 January 2008, 02:42GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Top 7 Alternative Therapies
	Tired of taking piles of drugs? Here are the alternative (complementary) therapies. They are not largely taught in the colleges and many doctors are still skeptical. Still, over 32 % of the patients appeal to them (up to 33 % in Finland, and 49 % in Australia), in conditions in which they are rarely covered by medical assurances. Some methods, such as applying a cold object over a burning zone, have been known for long, but they have l ... [read more >>]
	14 December 2007, 09:49GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Drugs and Poisons of the Amazon
	There are at least 500 species of medicinal plants utilized by the Indians of Amazon. 10 species coming from the Amazon are already employed by drug companies. Cat's claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is a woody vine related to the coffee tree, employed locally in Amazonia (Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador), drunk as infusion. The plant attracted the attention of the drug companies due to its antiviral and immune system boosting qualities. Its nam ... [read more >>]
	22 November 2007, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Four Interesting Facts About Our Teeth
	1. Specialists say that if during an accident you lose a tooth, do not throw it. Your chances of reimplanting the teeth can be of 50 % if you go to the dentist 30 minutes after the ‘incident’. Try to stay calm, as much as possible. Hold the tooth by the corona and rinse it gently with warm water. Don't brush it. Call the stomatologist and if he/she does not recommend otherwise, introduce the tooth in its alveola. Bite strongly a h ... [read more >>]
	20 November 2007, 13:41GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Effects of Drugs on Sex, Health and Social Life
	1. Causes of drug consume. There are over 200 million drug consumers worldwide. From "natural" to synthetic ("designer") drugs, they are aimed to induce an excitation and euphoria state; when we talk about stars, actors, famous singers, they usually go on with their addiction being pressured by the entourage (many singers and actors are famous for their drug consume). The media builds a magical aura around the drugs, an ... [read more >>]
	15 November 2007, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

10 Amazing Facts about Ravens
	1.The raven is the largest bird of the crow family: it is twice heavier than a common crow at 1.3 kg (3 pounds), being 60 cm (two feet) long, with a wingspan of almost 1 m (3.3 ft). Ravens can live 40 years in the wild and 70 in captivity. 2.Ravens can soar high above the trees, unlike crows, which rely on active flight. Ravens are capable of aerial stunts similar to those executed by the birds of prey. 3.Like in many other birds, ... [read more >>]
	14 November 2007, 17:44GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

"Herbal" Viagra May Kill You
	When you hear "plant" and "herb", you immediately think about a healthy alternative to synthetic drugs. A herbal "Viagra" would come without the risk of a possible deadly stroke. But a new AP investigation revealed that products like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25, advertising an array of Asian panacea plants, can hide in fact illegal versions of the same Viagra, Cialis or Levitra they are supposedly meant to replace ... [read more >>]
	14 November 2007, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Diamonds Against Cancer, TBC, Viruses
	Ladies know why diamonds are their best friends: because they can turn people healthy. A new research carried at the Northwestern University and published in Nano Letters has revealed that nanodiamonds could be the new class of medical nanomaterials for delivering anti-cancer chemicals to cells without the negative side effects linked with currently employed delivery materials. Nanodiamonds could also be employed against tubercul ... [read more >>]
	12 November 2007, 02:47GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Top 15 Effects That Coffee Has on Your Health
	Some are trying hard to show the beneficial effects that coffee has on our health, others see it as the devil’s beverage. Others say it’s rather a bogus. Read on and decide for yourself who’s right! 1. Some say that the energy boosting effect of the morning coffee is only in your mind and you should sleep more. The caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms accumulating overnight, but does not make people more alert. Only people who do not regu ... [read more >>]
	10 November 2007, 07:09GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

India's Odd Drug
	Radio advertising encourages people to use it. On TV, magazines and newspapers, cinema stars present it as a product that makes you live an exciting and honorable life. Only an announcement written with small letters warn the consumers that its use affects their health. It's about a substance that produces dependency. Paan is consumed in Southern Asia, especially in India and Myanmar. Its traditional formula consists in ... [read more >>]
	09 November 2007, 15:11GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Hackers with Balls Affecting the Chinese Government
	Supposing you want to advertise a product on the Internet, you have two options: you do it legally using partnerships and deals or illegally. The second one is not the smartest move but you can do it without any cost. Most users who want to advertise something on the web choose to do it by spamming other consumers through unsolicited email messages. At this time, you're able to buy anything through spam emails including watc ... [read more >>]
	05 November 2007, 05:56GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The "Love Pill": Viagra Makes You Fall in Love!
	Oh, come on…you know it's all about love in the case of Hugh Hefner and his herd of sexy blond bimbos. That's for sure, as an American research has showed that impotence drugs like Viagra act in more ways than producing an erection: they also boost the levels of the "love hormone". The team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reported in the Journal of Physiology that rats on Viagra (sildenafil) presented higher ... [read more >>]
	01 November 2007, 10:10GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Dentist's Drug Could Stop Amphetamine Addiction
	Eventually, amphetamines destroy your teeth. Paradoxically, in such cases, dentists hold the secret of our salvation: and that’s lidocaine, a drug usually employed to numb your gums. Lidocaine shuts off insula, a brain nucleus controlling drug addiction, and targeting the insula's activity could one day free people of their drug addiction. Other brain areas like the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens have been connected to dru ... [read more >>]
	29 October 2007, 05:50GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Moderate Cannabis Relieves Pain, High Dose Boosts It!
	There is a strong advocacy towards using cannabis for relieving pain in many conditions. A new study has come up with a surprising result: even if "moderate" doses of cannabis can ease pain, high doses actually boost it. "Our study suggests that there is a therapeutic window for analgesia, with low doses being ineffective, medium doses resulting in pain relief, and high doses increasing pain," said lead aut ... [read more >>]
	24 October 2007, 03:48GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Alcohol, The Main "Date Rape" Drug for Women
	Researches point that women are more prone to addiction than men. But what makes young women vulnerable and increases their chances to experience rape or serious sexual assault? A new study made by the Forensic and Legal Medicine team at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, has discovered that the answer can be women's binge drinking. They team checked toxicology results coming from victims of alleged sexual assa ... [read more >>]
	23 October 2007, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Hair Loss: 3 Causes and 3 Methods of Treatment
	Hair loss is more than a physical issue. For many people, it is a great fatality that even changes their character. They turn more introverted, avoid relations with the others, get low self esteem, and even depression. Men will think that the others see them as being less attractive and sometimes even less virile (paradoxically, most men suffer genetic baldness linked to testosterone, the sex hormone, thus balder can show off in some cases ... [read more >>]
	26 September 2007, 14:07GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

New Rapid Method for Finding Platinum
	Gold comes at a small price compared to platinum and palladium. And the main target of the palladium and platinum quest is not their use in jewelry. These precious and extremely rare metals are crucial in the automobile, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, being unmatched as catalysts in various chemical reactions. Palladium is employed for car catalytic converters that make eliminated gases less toxic. But finding and ex ... [read more >>]
	26 September 2007, 05:32GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

New Patch Will Replace the Traditional Injections
	Soon, the nasty injections could be a fact of the past as a simple patch, attached to the skin of the arm could deliver drugs to the body, without causing pains. The new technology from inkjet printer cartridges employs a system developed by HP to push drugs through tiny needles, too short to reach the pain receptors. This method could deliver many drugs now injected or taken daily. Still, the researchers are worried about the possibil ... [read more >>]
	20 September 2007, 02:57GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Cocaine-addicted Squirrels Terrorize London
	In the end, their neurons function on the same basis as ours and squirrels are getting hooked on crack cocaine in London, hidden by addicts and dealers in gardens. The rodents are digging up the stashes and eat the powerful drug, which comes in small chunks, neglecting their traditional nut diet. Several squirrels behaving bizarrely have been observed in Brixton, South London, following a police blitz against cocaine dealers ... [read more >>]
	08 September 2007, 05:37GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Meth Induces Parkinson's Disease
	When taking meth, a burst of dopamine makes you euphoric, extremely dynamic, full of energy and you do not even need to eat. But after that, blood pressure increases and there is a risk of stroke and severe heart issues, besides hallucinations. Methamphetamine (also known as meth, crank, crystal and speed), a powerfully addictive drug, has been used by more than 12 million people in the US. Celebrities like Fergie from the Bl ... [read more >>]
	17 August 2007, 14:06GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

MySpace: Advertising Drugs Or Informing Users?
	MySpace can be easily placed among the most popular social websites on the Internet because it owns a really huge number of registered members of all ages. Because this service has a strong impact over the teenagers, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals created a new website hosted by MySpace that sustains it informs users about prescription painkillers (oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and methadone) and heroin, TechCrunch reports. The new p ... [read more >>]
	15 August 2007, 04:38GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Why Do Celebrities Deny Their Addiction Problems?
	Now that we’ve witnessed the dumb show-offs offered by Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears, one may wonder how can these persons suddenly suffer such drastic falls from the sexiest stars out there to the "new" persons we see in awkward mug shots? Psychologists say stars are more likely to fail to admit that they have drug or alcohol abuse issues, as their addiction gives them a false sense of normality, fact that make ... [read more >>]
	30 July 2007, 04:00GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Cheap Booze and Marijuana Use Connected
	One vice never comes alone. And young adults do not have many financial resources. That's why the finding of a team at the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) may not be a surprise: consumption of malt liquor, the cheap, high-alcohol beverage often marketed to teens, expose young adults to a higher risk for alcohol problems and illicit drugs consume, especially marijuana. "In our study of young adults ... [read more >>]
	27 July 2007, 08:31GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Silver Consumption Turns Your Skin Blue
	Even from the Middle Ages, royal and noble houses used silver dishes due to their disinfectant effect. Colloidal silver is still sold as a cold drug, decongestant, all-around germ fighter, a type of universal panacea. But is there any real reason to take colloidal silver as a dietary supplement? The answer is a clear NO, and it can induce some serious and weird side effects. There are silver-derived compounds employed in conve ... [read more >>]
	24 July 2007, 03:36GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

The Bitter End of Jim Morrison
	According to French journalist Sam Bernett, the death of legendary "Doors" front man, Jim Morrison, was not quite as "natural" as stated at the time. As hinted in the Oliver Stone's biopic movie, Morrison’s death, 36 years ago, was indeed caused by a massive drug and alcohol overdose. It seems that at the time, his demise was covered up by a network of drug dealers that provided the artist with his daily "nutr ... [read more >>]
	13 July 2007, 10:13GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Gila Monster Venom for Losing Weight
	Gila monster looks like hell and bites the same. This lizard and its cousins, the monitor lizards are the only venomous known lizards (would it be a surprise to know that snakes evolved from their ancestors?). Exenatide, a synthetic chemical imitating a compound encountered in the venomous saliva of the Gila monster led to healthy sustained glucose levels and progressive weight loss among patients with type 2 diabetes, as revealed by a thr ... [read more >>]
	13 July 2007, 03:01GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Erection Pills Do Not Solve Impotence
	Does an erection solve a man's sexual problems? Apparently, it doesn’t, as found by a research made by Dr. Hayley Matic from Deakin's School of Psychology under the supervision of Professor Marita McCabe. It appears that oral drugs, known as PDE5 inhibitors, can bring back a man's "sexual function", but not his "sexual health" too. "As well as the obvious physiological aspects, men with ... [read more >>]
	12 July 2007, 13:11GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Tony Blair's Children's School Involved in YouTube Drug Clip
	The famous popular video sharing service YouTube is now involved in an interesting case after a clip showing seven students from the Tony Blair's children's school taking drugs was published on the official page. All the pupils were suspended but the police officers said there is no official case concerning the school. According to The Telegraph, all the students were 15 year old and were filmed while they were smoking ... [read more >>]
	11 July 2007, 10:31GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Which Are the Top Addictions?
	Being addicted to sex can be almost normal if it does not affect your social life and mental health. But other types of addictions hint directly to your brain. And some of us can be genetically vulnerable to many narcotic chemicals. There is a wave of new researches revealing the physical aspects of addiction and explaining why just one shot of heroine, for example, can make you an addict. Of course, the same studies have helped ... [read more >>]
	06 July 2007, 14:11GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

A Second Generation of Drugs Against Resistant HIV
	This is the agony of the medical world: finding a cure or a vaccine against HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Now, the latest hit against the virus is an experimental drug that suppressed it to undetectable levels in people with highly drug-resistant strains. The new chemical, TMC125 (etravirine), is the first of its type, after nearly a decade of research, in a class of three new drugs capable of stopping drug-resistant HIV and FDA ... [read more >>]
	06 July 2007, 04:59GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

A Pill That Wipes Out Bad Memories
	Even shameful moments, like not having an erection or premature ejaculation can leave you with haunting memories that impair your sex life for a while. But what about the victims of a rape or the loss of a beloved one, when the effects on a person can go from excessive fear to depression and antisocial behavior? Now an American-Canadian team from McGill University, in Montreal and Harvard University in Boston, believes it has ... [read more >>]
	04 July 2007, 04:26GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Snacks Made of Giant Jellyfish
	Jellyfish do not have the "common sense" to always show themselves in the size of a (little) plate. Sometimes they can be enormous monsters, 2m (6 ft) in diameter and 200 kg (450 pounds) heavy. This is the case of the Nemopilema nomurai. Such monsters can easily break fishing nets and kill the fish captured inside them. But when there is an invasion of millions of such beasts, things turn really nasty. This is the problem fac ... [read more >>]
	03 July 2007, 09:36GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

New Classification of the Alcoholics: 5 Subtypes
	Some may feel offended if called alcoholics. And for good reason, as a new research made at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) established a first classification of the alcoholic people in US, resulting five distinct subtypes of the condition. "Our findings should help dispel the popular notion of the ‘typical alcoholic. We find that young adults comprise the largest group of alcoholics in this country, ... [read more >>]
	02 July 2007, 06:13GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Exercising Stimulates Brain Growth
	Exercising means more than strong muscles and bones: it means a much better health. Exercising fights against impotence, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, bone diseases, arthritis, cancer, while boosting mood, memory and longevity. Physical exercises are also known to have an effect similar to that of antidepressants, fact proven by many researches. There are many hypotheses, including a supposed rise in serotonin (& ... [read more >>]
	29 June 2007, 07:01GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Don’t Worry, Heroin Addicts: Afghanistan Opium Production Has Hit the Record!
	In three days, heroin has hooked you. To remove the danger, opium production must be stopped. But the fight against opium crops is a sweet-bitter one: when they are eradicated in one place, they pop up in another. An UN report shows that while the opium production in the Golden Triangle (Burma-Laos-Vietnam) has been almost wiped out, in Afghanistan it has reached records. "Efforts to eradicate the world’s drug problems are paying ... [read more >>]
	27 June 2007, 02:59GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia

Dangers and Frauds Hidden in Our Food
	Filling the shopping cart has turned into an act of faith. But while buying food, you can be misled. Because many times you do not really know what you eat. I'm not referring to the mad cow disease or bird flu, which appear in all news and daily capture our attention, but on the way we are cheated by food producers. In the case of the meat, many times it contains too much water. That's because of (usually) illegal chemicals e ... [read more >>]
	23 June 2007, 06:58GMT | (c) 2008 Softpedia