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Could the Sobriety Pill Be on Its Way?


February 18, 2013 | Andy Cush

Researchers at UCLA have developed a way to reduce blood alcohol levels in drunk mice, in a study that could forebear a pill that would help you quickly sober up after a night of boozing. Scientists gave the rodents a nanocapsule filled with an enzyme that naturally metabolizes alcohol, and those animals dosed with the enzyme had blood alcohol drop much more rapidly than the control group. Used on humans, the enzyme  would “almost be like having millions of liver cell units inside your stomach or in your intestine, helping you to digest alcohol,” Yunfeng Lu a professor on the study.

Imagine the possibilities: you could potentially use the enzyme to quickly sober up for a drive home after partying, or to fend off a hangover. I mostly wonder what the physical sensation of getting sober abruptly after a good buzz would feel like.

(Image: Emiliano/Flickr)