Pattern of Life

Is there a drug around for just about everything?

It sure seems like there is!  It's kind of scary to think about all of the stuff that there are drugs for.  There are drugs for losing weight, to quit smoking, to avoid pregnancy, to get pregnant, to get an erection, etc.  Then, there are the drugs that counteract the side effects of all these drugs.  I think the drugs that scare me the most are the drugs that are kind of unnecessary.  For example, I saw an ad for a drug that lengthens eye lashes.  One of the side effects of this drug was a change in eye color!  If it has the ability to change your eye color...what else is it doing to your body?

Can we raise our levels of dopamine ourselves?

Since Dopamine is naturally occurring in our body, I do believe that we can raise our levels ourselves, especially if a placebo has the ability to raise levels.  I think it is unfortunate that people look at placebos so negatively.  Since starting my training in acupuncture, one of the most common question or statements I've received is "How do you know it's not just a placebo?" or even worse "I think the only reason it works is because it's a placebo."  My answer is always the same, if it works without any side effects, does it really matter whether or not it's a placebo?  If it were just a placebo(I believe there is much more to it then that), would that reduce it's effect?  

I went on a tangent with that question...

How do you think chimps and humans diverged as a species?

I honestly don't know how to answer this question.  I totally believe in evolution, but it's still hard to imagine humans being close enough to chimps to get it on.  I guess at some point one of them decided that the other wasn't intelligent or attractive enough.