Krokodil: The Drug That Eats Junkies

On By A.P.In Korkodil, UncategorizedLeave a comment

The new drug krokodil, or “crocodile,”  is desomorphine, a synthetic opiate many times more powerful than heroin.

Korkodil is created from a complex chain of mixing and chemical reactions with household ingredients, cooked from codeine-based headache pills.  Thus, it’s much cheaper than heroin.

However, its poisonous ingredients quickly cover the skin with scales and sores.

Read about it here:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/krokodil-the-drug-that-eats-junkies-2300787.html

Thanks to Kedmobee for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

A Man and His Mannequin

On By A.P.In Human BehaviorLeave a comment

ADAMS — Residents of Watertown and the southern part of Jefferson County may see a man and his mannequin traveling along Route 11 and in the city.

A man who goes by the name of Ned Nefer, 38, is traveling from Syracuse to Watertown by foot. He is pushing Teagan, a 6-foot mannequin that Mr. Nefer claims is his wife.

Mr. Nefer said he was born in Syracuse and in the 1980s spent some time at the Children’s Home of Jefferson County in Watertown, where he said he met Teagan when she was just a head. He said he built a body for the mannequin and the two were “married” Oct. 31, 1986, in California.

They are traveling to the former Children’s Home on State Street, where the two met, he said. Mr. Nefer said he has not been back to Watertown since 1988.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110609/NEWS03/306099966

Frozen In Indifference

On By A.P.In Empathy, HomelessnessLeave a comment

“He’s encased in ice, except his legs, which are sticking out like Popsicle sticks,” the caller phoned to tell this reporter.

“Why didn’t your friend call the police?”

“He was trespassing and didn’t want to get in trouble,” the caller replied. As it happens, the caller’s friend is an urban explorer who gets thrills rummaging through and photographing the ruins of Detroit. It turns out that this explorer last week was playing hockey with a group of other explorers on the frozen waters that had collected in the basement of the building. None of the men called the police, the explorer said. They, in fact, continued their hockey game.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20090128/metro08/901280491/Frozen-in-indifference–Life-goes-on-around-body-found-in-vacant-warehouse#ixzz1R5Z1kmW4

Thanks to P.C. for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Dead Body Undetected for 2 Days in Massachusettes Public Swimming Pool

On By A.P.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

 A preliminary investigation shows “murky and cloudy” water in a public swimming pool helped conceal the body of a drowned woman for two days while people swam there, authorities said Friday.

The Bristol County district attorney’s office said the body of Marie Joseph was submerged at the bottom of the 12-foot-deep end of the pool from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday evening.

Joseph, 36, was a hotel housekeeper in Newport, R.I. She was from Haiti and had five children. Her body was discovered after it floated to the surface shortly before some youngsters sneaked into the pool for a clandestine swim Tuesday night.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/06/30/massachusetts.pool.woman.body/index.html?iref=obnetwork

Thanks to P.C. for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Mutant fish in the Hudson River safely store toxins in their fat.

On By A.P.In Fish, PollutionLeave a comment

Some of the fish in New York’s Hudson River have evolved resistance to several of the waterway’s toxic pollutants. Instead of getting sick from dioxins and related compounds including some polychlorinated biphenyls, Atlantic tomcod harmlessly store these poisons in fat.  However, it may not be so good for the higher-ups in the food chain.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/fish-toxins-environment/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/fish-toxins-environment/

Levamisole in the cocaine

On By A.P.In Drugs, Health2 Comments

Levamisole is an anthelminthic and immunomodulator discovered at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1966.

Levamisole has been used in humans to treat parasitic worm infections, and has been studied in combination with other forms of chemotherapy for colon cancer, melanoma, and head and neck cancer.

The drug was withdrawn from the U.S. and Canadian markets in 2000 and 2003 respectively, due to the risk of serious side effects, including a significant weakening of the immune system called agramulocytosis.

Currently, levamisole remains in veterinary use as a dewormer for livestock.

According to the Department of Justice, some 70 percent of cocaine (most of it distributed in and around New York and L.A.) is cut with levamisole.

Unlike most cuts — usually inert or relatively harmless substances like the B vitamin inositol, which are added by lower-level dealers looking to stretch supplies — levamisole appears to be added to cocaine from the outset, in the countries of origin. The substance has been found in various concentrations in cocaine analyzed in countries around the world, from Switzerland to Australia.

Levamisole is cheap, widely available and seems to have the right look, taste and melting point to go unnoticed by cocaine users, which may alone account for its popularity.
Learn about it here:
 

Thanks to P.C. for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Being bilingual protects from Alzheimer’s disease

On By A.P.In Alzheimer's diseaseLeave a comment

Speaking at least two languages may slow dementia in the aging brain, new research shows. Bilingual people do better in mental challenges and are more skilled at multi-tasking than those who have just one tongue. They also develop symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease an average of four or five years later.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/100218-bilingual-brains-alzheimers-dementia-science-aging/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1358234/People-speak-languages-better-multi-tasking-likely-develop-Alzheimers.html