Love and Castration

I have always found it bizarre that people profess their love for their pets, treating them in many respects better than fellow humans, yet castrate these beloved animals as a matter of course. In my view, castration is a vile mutilation and an extreme violation of a creature's dignity. An animal that requires castration for the purposes of taming perhaps should not be kept as a pet in the first place. Clearly there is a need to control population. Less invasive and potentially reversible measures such as vasectomies are more humane but rarely used alternatives.

Once again, technology comes to our rescue, allowing us to be more civilised. A new drug has been released in Australia which limits both sperm and testosterone production for several months thus fulfilling the targeted aspects of castration whilst preserving dignity and reversibility. There is an argument to be made for administering this to some people.

In Defence of the Chimera

This Economist opinion article provides a defence for the creation of chimeras and encourages the expansion of this line of research.

*Update* A classic amusing post from DeLong from a while ago.

Ketamine

A friend of mine this week participated in an Army research study to test the effect of low dose ketamine on functional and cognitive ability. This research may have implications to administering ketamine as a less impairing analgesic for soldiers than opiates. The doses were so low that he experienced none of the effects of anaesthetic levels such as dissociative or out of body experiences to his chagrin. He was quite pleased to have tried this controlled substance in a safe and legal context whilst being paid and contributing to the advancement of medical science. Ketamine perfectly illustrates the deleterious effect of puritanical political leaders and lawmakers on medicine, scientific research, freedom, and safety. To paraphrase Orwell, the 'War on Drugs' is a war by the State upon its own citizens, and has little to do with the destructive impact of drugs on people's lives. Fearful of corrupt local law enforcement, and unable to access proper medical care or quality drugs as ravers and other users have been driven deeper underground. In such a miasma, Scientific researchers are unable to properly analyse the effects of the drug over the relatively large preexisting population of users. This translates to loss of life, poor health, and needless suffering for soldier and citizen alike.

I have previously mentioned ketamine.

Psilocybin

Yet another illegal drug proves its medical benefits. Psilocybin has been shown an effective treatment for some people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Psilocybin, or "Magic Mushroom," is a commonly used hallucinogen which greatly influenced thinkers like Terrance McKenna and is an important sacrament for many aboriginal Americans. This relatively safe substance should be decriminalised the world over along the Dutch model. Additional funding should be granted to studying the potential medical uses for this and other criminalised substances.

New Scientist article on Psychedelic Medicine.

Contraception

Perhaps one of the most important inventions of the 20th Century was the development of effective contraception technology especially the birth control pill. The hormone-free male version of this pill currently under research could make women much healthier with minimal impact on male health and long term fertility. Let us hope that this drug proves safe and effective.

Diabetes

Knowing many people with life-threatening Type 1 juvenile diabetes, I hail the development of artificial pancreas technology.