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Vampire Clinic That Sold Young Blood to the Wealthy Closes Shop

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Bad Blood

Ambrosia Health, the controversial clinic that sold transfusions of young, healthy people’s blood, has “ceased patient treatments,” according to the company’s website.

The decision to stop taking patients comes after an official statement from FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb this week, which described the company’s practices as a dangerous scam.

Dr. Acula

Ambrosia claimed its transfusions of a younger person’s blood could reverse health problems and extend a person’s life — a controversial and unproven notion.

The company never published the results of its self-funded clinical experiments, and recent evidence suggests that these transfusions could have been dangerous from the start.

Vampire Empire

It’s unclear whether Ambrosia plans to resume operations in the future or if the FDA’s warning rang the company’s death toll. Futurism reached out to the company with questions, and this article will be updated if we hear back.

Either way, the wealthy will need to get their controversial medical treatments somewhere else for the time being.

More on Ambrosia Health: The FDA Warns: Transfusions of Young Blood Are a Dangerous Scam

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Bangladesh Declares “War on Pornography,” Blocks TikTok

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

The Bangladeshi government is scrubbing the internet of porn. But it's also monitoring people's personal social media accounts for provocative images.

Porn Ban

Over the past week, Bangladesh has blocked tens of thousands of sites and apps and is policing the social media accounts of celebrities in an effort to scrub the nation’s internet of pornography.

The porn purge comes as part of the government’s push to crack down on adult-oriented content like porn and gambling, which originated with a November decision in Bangladesh’s High Court, according to Al Jazeera.

Declaring War

“I want to create a safe and secure internet for all Bangladeshis, including children,” said Mustafa Jabbar, Bangladeshi posts and telecommunications minister. “And this is my war against pornography. And this will be a continuous war.”

That war on porn also seems to involve micromanaging the lives of celebrities. The Bangladeshi government recently ordered a local actress to delete what it determined were provocative pictures from her various social media accounts, Al Jazeera reports.

“We are monitoring the local Facebook profiles, YouTube channels and websites, also,” Jabbar said. “A few of them were taken down for having obscene content. We advised a few others not to post anything that goes against our social norms.”

Behind Seven Proxies

So far, internet service providers have complied with the government’s demands. But the nation’s porn hungry internet users can still access porn with a little technological wizardry.

A Bangladeshi official confirmed that the country’s new regulations can be skirted using a virtual private network or mirror websites, according to Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Bangladesh blocks 20,000 websites in anti-porn ‘war’ [Al Jazeera]

More on censorship: Google Is Censoring Search Results to Hide Russian Corruption

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New Research: Earth’s Atmosphere Extends Well Beyond the Moon

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Data collected by NASA and ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory reveals that Earth's gaseous layer extends up to 391,000 miles away from Earth.

The Geocorona

A light layer of hydrogen atoms called the geocorona separates Earth’s atmosphere from outer space. And it extends far beyond Earth — much farther than previously believed.

Data collected by NASA and the European space agency’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a spacecraft that launched in 1995 to study the Sun, suggests that this gaseous layer extends up to 391,000 miles (630,000 km) from Earth — which, strikingly, is 50 times Earth’s diameter and almost twice the distance to the Moon.

Water Vapor

And that’s a big deal, because planets with traces of hydrogen in their atmospheres have a much higher chance of containing water on the surface.

“This is especially interesting when looking for planets with potential reservoirs of water beyond our Solar System,” explained Jean-Loup Bertaux, co-author of the paper on the new research and former principal investigator at ESA, in an official press release.

Empty Space

Unfortunately, those extra hydrogen atoms won’t be particularly useful for future missions to the Moon.

“On Earth we would call it vacuum, so this extra source of hydrogen is not significant enough to facilitate space exploration,” said Igor Baliukin of Russia’s Space Research Institute and lead author of the paper.

But they could make future astronomical observations more accurate by allowing astronomers to take the hydrogen atoms and their associated ultraviolet wavelengths into account.

The revelation symbolizes a big win for the SOHO team. “This discovery highlights the value of data collected over 20 years ago and the exceptional performance of SOHO,” said Bernhard Fleck, SOHO project scientist at ESA.

More on Earth’s atmosphere: The European Space Agency’s New Ion Thruster “Breathes” Air

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EPA: Low Doses of Toxins, Radiation Could Actually Be Healthy

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

The EPA has proposed a rule change that would trade a cautious approach to regulating low-doses of chemicals for one that's far more flexible.

Toxic Changes

In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new standards for how it studies the health impacts of low doses of chemicals, trading in a previously cautious approach for one that’s far more flexible.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times published a deep dive into the work that went on behind the scenes to get this proposed rule change added to the Federal Register — and the damage it could do to public health if adopted.

Current Standard

For decades, according to the LA Times’ excellent explainer, U.S. federal agencies have adhered to what’s known as the linear no-threshold model when regulating and studying toxic chemicals and radiation. This model assumes that if a substance is harmful at any level, it’s harmful at all levels, with the level of harm increasing or decreasing depending on the level of exposure.

This model ensured that the public wouldn’t be exposed to potentially harmful substances even if research didn’t conclusively prove that a low level of exposure would, in fact, be harmful.

That was important because, in some cases, various studies of the same chemical at the same low dose have reached different conclusions. One might assert that the low dose is harmful, another that it has no effect, and still another that the dose is actually beneficial to the human body, a phenomenon known as hormesis.

Hormesis D’oeuvre

It’s true that some dangerous substances really are beneficial at low doses. Small doses of tamoxifen, for example, can help treat breast cancer, but at higher doses, the chemical can actually cause uterine cancer.

However, while hormesis might be useful in a clinical setting, it’s not an effective way to regulate chemicals that could reach the public at large, according to David Jacobs, a public health professor at the University of Minnesota.

“There is no way to control the dose a person gets from an industrial or agricultural chemical,” Jacobs told the LA Times. “It’s not being doled out in pills and monitored by a physician who can lower it if the patient isn’t responding well.”

The Holy Grail

On April 30, the EPA posted a proposed rule titled “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” for comment in the Federal Register. It removes linear no-threshold as the default model for estimating low-dose impacts, instead giving the EPA the authority to test other models, including hormesis.

Ten months later, the EPA has yet to announce a final date for deciding on the proposed rule. But if it’s adopted, public health experts told the LA Times they expect it to “tie the EPA up in knots” and possibly even result in new standards for everything from our air to our drinking water.

“Industry has been pushing for this for a long time,” David Michaels, a professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University, told the newspaper. “Not just the chemical industry, but the radiation and tobacco industries, too.”

“This is industry’s holy grail,” he concluded.

More on the EPA: The EPA Just Removed Climate Change From Their Climate Change Website

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Elon Musk: Teslas Will Be Fully Self-Driving By Next Year

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Full Autonomy

According to Elon Musk, Tesla’s cars are nearly ready for fully autonomous driving.

“I think we will be feature complete — full self-driving — this year,” Musk told Cathie Wood and Tasha Keeney of ARK Invest in a podcast on Tuesday. “Meaning the car will be able to find you in a parking lot, pick you up and take you all the way to your destination without an intervention, this year.”

Car Naps

By next year, you’ll be able to take a nap behind the wheel, Musk claimed in the same interview.

“My guess as to when we would think it is safe for somebody to essentially fall asleep and wake up at their destination? Probably towards the end of next year,” he said.

And he’s willing to stand by his words: “I would say I am of certain of that,” he said. “That is not a question mark.”

Big Promises

Musk is no stranger to making big promises. As it stands right now, Tesla’s Autopilot can make lane changes, and navigate highway ramps — but it still can’t handle most other roads.

In October, Tesla dropped the “full self-driving” mode from the Model 3, with Musk claiming it was “causing too much confusion” in a tweet.

The race to have cars take over all driving functions is on. Alphabet’s Waymo launched a robo-taxi service in Arizona in December.

But even Waymo’s cars require human safety drivers to take control on multiple occasions throughout a single ride.

More on Tesla: Teslas Are Getting a “Party and Camping Mode”

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Automakers Could Give Police Control Over Your Self-Driving Car

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

The relationship between law enforcement and self-driving cars is still in flux, but some are suggesting we give let police control self-driving cars.

More Q’s Than A’s

We still have a lot of questions to answer before autonomous vehicles can go mainstream: Who’s at fault if an AV has an accident? Should people need licenses to ride in a self-driving car? How should an AV decide between running over a dog or a cat?

On Wednesday, Bloomberg published a story focused on yet another question — how should AVs interact with law enforcement? — and the solution might involving ceding control of your car to cops.

Police Power

The Bloomberg story notes the Dec. 2018 incident in which an intoxicated driver fell asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla with Autopilot engaged. The vehicle led police on a seven-minute chase down a freeway before officers were able to compel the Tesla to stop by essentially boxing it in.

This is the kind of problem AV manufactures and law enforcement want to avoid, and that could mean programming AVs to pull over as soon as they detect flashing police lights behind them, a protocol already adopted by Waymo.

Bloomberg even suggests that officers forced to exit their vehicles might be able to instruct other AVs to reroute away from an area “with a couple of taps on a handheld device.”

Driver Rights

Letting law enforcement control a car presumably owned by a citizen seems like murky legal territory.

Even if legal, it would be easy to see how some people might be opposed to police being able to give instructions to their car — especially if the car is programmed to follow police orders over that of the driver and the driver isn’t doing anything illegal.

Some critics have also noted how hackers might be able to exploit any ability for police to control AVs.

It’s still too early to say whether any of the measures proposed in the Bloomberg piece will become the standard for navigating interactions between AVs and law enforcement. But given that we could have fully autonomous vehicles as soon as next year, we have no time to waste figuring out an answer to this lingering question.

READ MORE: Someday Your Self-Driving Car Will Pull Over for Police [Bloomberg]

More on driverless cars: It Took Seven Minutes to Pull Over a Drunk and “Unresponsive” Tesla Driver

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Samsung Just Revealed a $1,980 Folding Smartphone

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Galaxy Fold

Korean tech giant Samsung officially announced its take on the growing foldable smartphone trend at its Galaxy Unpacked event today in San Francisco: the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The device will go on sale for $1,980 on April 26.

We first got a glimpse of the device in November, but the brand has likely been working on the concept for almost half a decade.

Serious About Multitasking

The Galaxy Fold will unsurprisingly pack some serious power, with a high resolution 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display. When it’s folded in half — Samsung referred to that as “phone mode” — the display size is reduced to only 4.6 inches.

It’ll also pack an impressive 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of on-board flash storage.

Foldable Future

Competitors include Royole and Chinese phone maker Xiaomi. The latter is developing a smartphone that folds on both sides, like a birthday card.

The device seems to be a little awkward to use in phone mode, but when unfolded, the Galaxy Fold could be a worthy replacement for a seven-inch tablet.

More on foldable smartphones: Xiaomi Teases Flexible Smartphone That Folds Like a Card

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Scientists Used Gene Therapy to Cure Deafness in Mice

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

A new gene therapy tested on mice can treat a specific kind of congenital deafness by repairing a faulty inner-ear protein.

Three Deaf Mice

About half of the time someone is born totally deaf, it’s because of their genetic makeup. Those people are typically treated with cochlear implants, but now researchers from Europe and the U.S. are looking at gene-based treatments as well.

Deaf mice treated with a new kind of gene therapy developed the ability to hear almost as well as healthy mice, according to research published Tuesday in the journal PNAS — findings that suggest gene therapies may someday help with previously-untreatable conditions.

Ear Genes

The mice had what’s called DFNB9 deafness, the type that accounts for between two and eight percent of gene-related cases of human deafness. In DFNB9 deafness, a protein called otoferlin can’t perform its usual role of transmitting sound information gathered by the fine hairs in the inner ear.

But after altering the deaf mice’s genomes with specially-crafted viruses, the mice were able to hear almost as well as mice that were born with functioning otoferlin.

Step One

Even after altering the same specific gene in mice as what causes DFNB9 deafness in humans, it’s too soon to say that these gene-editing viruses can be used to treat people. There’s a long road between animal experiments and human clinics.

There’s more reason to be wary of this treatment. According to a conflict of interest statement in the PNAS article, one researcher from the University of Florida stands to profit if this virus-based technology takes off — so it’s worth waiting to see if the work holds up in further studies.

READ MORE: Gene therapy durably reverses congenital deafness in mice [Pasteur Institute Newsroom via MedicalXPress]

More on gene therapy: New CRISPR Gene Editing Experiment Slows Down Hearing Loss

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Lawyer: People Could Try to Sell the Apollo Moon Footprints

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Air and Space Law professor Michelle Hanlon argues that if we don't draft new laws, the destruction of landmarks that happens on Earth will repeat in space.

Interplanetary Heritage

Right now, there’s no legal framework preventing people from destroying or selling culturally-important landmarks in space.

For instance, as space travel becomes more common, an opportunistic someone could find a way to steal and auction off the first bootprints left on the moon by Neil Armstrong, warns University of Mississippi Air and Space Law professor Michelle Hanlon in an essay published Friday in The Conversation.

Earthly Precedent

Hanlon cites damage to landmarks like the Pyramids of Gaza or Terracotta Army by tourists who break off pieces to take home as evidence that people can’t be trusted to preserve landmarks of their own volition.

“There is no law against running over the first bootprints imprinted on the moon,” Hanlon wrote. “Or erasing them. Or carving them out of the moon’s regolith and selling them to the highest bidder.”

Rising Chorus

Places like Stonehenge and ancient cave paintings are protected as part of the U.N.’s World Heritage List. If landmarks in space are to survive as more nations and companies develop the capacity to leave the planet, Hanlon believes that leaders need to be proactive and protect those landmarks before anything goes wrong.

Hanlon is just one of many to recently call for more comprehensive or updated space laws. Right now, the various laws and treaties that pertain to outer space are a bit of a mess. Hopefully, before trips to the moon become commonplace, someone can sort them out.

More on space law: Four Legal Challenges to Resolve Before Settling on Mars

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What are Nootropics? – Neurohacker Collective

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Nootropics. You might have heard of them. The limitless pill that keeps Billionaires rich. The smart drugs that students are taking to help boost their hyperfocus. The cognitive enhancers that give corporate executives an advantage. All very exciting. But as always, the media are way behind the curve. Yes, for the past few decades, cognitive enhancers were largely sketchy substances that people used to grasp at a short term edge at the expense of their health and well being. But the days of taking prescription pills to pull an all-nighter are so 2010. The better, safer path isnt with these stimulants but with nootropics. Nootropics consist of dietary supplements and substances which enhance your cognition, in particular when it comes to motivation, creativity, memory, and other executive functions. They play an important role in supporting memory and promoting optimal brain function.

These days, nootropics are beginning to take their rightful place as a particularly powerful tool in the Neurohackers toolbox. After all, biochemistry is deeply foundational to neural function. Whether you are trying to fix the damage that is done to your nervous system by a stressful and toxic environment or support and enhance your neural functioning, getting the chemistry right is table-stakes. And we are starting to get good at getting it right. Whats changed?

A big part is that we are finally starting to apply complex systems science to psycho-neuro-pharmacology and a nootropic approach. The neural system is awesomely complex and old-fashioned reductionist science has a really hard time with complexity. Big companies spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to separate the effects of just a single molecule from placebo and nootropics invariably show up as stacks of many different ingredients (ours, Qualia , currently has 42 separate synergistic nootropics ingredients from alpha GPC to bacopa monnieri and L-theanine). That kind of complex, multi pathway input requires a different methodology to understand well that goes beyond simply whats put in capsules.

But, thanks to the efforts of a number of remarkable scientists, researchers and plain-old neurohackers, we are beginning to put together a whole systems model of how all the different parts of the human brain work together and how they mesh with the complex regulatory structures of the body. Its going to take a lot more data and collaboration to dial this model in, but already we are empowered to design stacks that can meaningfully deliver on the promise of nootropics to enhance the quality of subjective experience and promote cognitive health, while having extremely low toxicity and possessing very few side effects. Its a type of brain hacking that is intended to produce noticeable cognitive benefits.

Before taking any supplement or chemical, people want to know if there will be long term effects or consequences, When Dr. Corneliu Giurgea first authored the term nootropics in 1972, he also outlined the characteristics that define nootropics. Besides the ability to benefit memory and support the cognitive processes, Dr. Giurgea believed that nootropics should be safe and non-toxic.

While some people focus on finding a short-term boost, nootropics emphasize long-term effects with noticeable cognitive support over a more extended period. Even though nootropics are intended to be safe, there are a few issues users want addressed before taking these supplements.

Many nootropics promote cognitive functioning as well as cognitive performance. Dr. Giurega also saw improved memory and reduced stress in many patients as well.

The first concern users have is with developing a tolerance to the nootropic. Developing a tolerance means the more you have of a substance, the less effective it gets over time.

Second, users are concerned with the possibility of withdrawal if they stop taking the nootropics. They worry that if they stop taking nootropics they wont be as smart as when they were taking nootropics, and will need to continue taking them to function. Some users report feeling a slight brain fog when discontinuing nootropics, but that isnt a sign of regression.

One of the most common strategies to beat this is cycling. Users who cycle their nootropics take them for a predetermined period, (usually around five days) before taking a two-day break from using them. Once the two days are up, they resume the cycle. By taking a break, nootropic users reduce the tolerance for nootropics and lessen the risk of regression and tolerance symptoms.

With so many different ones to choose from, choosing the best nootropics for you can be overwhelming at times. As usual, a decision this important will require research. Study up on the top nootropics which catch your eye the most. The nootropics you take will depend on what you want the enhancement for. The ingredients within each nootropic determine its specific function. For example, some nootropics contain ginkgo biloba, which can help memory, thinking speed, and increase attention span. Check the nootropic ingredients as you determine what end results you want to see. Some nootropics supplements can increase brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. An increase in dopamine levels can be very useful for memory, alertness, reward and more. Many healthy adults, as well as college students take nootropics. This really supports the central nervous system and the brain.

Another factor to consider is whether the nootropic is natural or synthetic. Natural nootropics generally have effects which are a bit more subtle, while synthetic nootropics can have more pronounced effects. Its also important to note that there are natural and synthetic nootropics. Some natural nootropics include Ginkgo biloba and ginseng. One benefit to using natural nootropics is they boost brain function and support brain health. They do this by increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the arteries and veins in the brain. Moreover, some nootropics contain Rhodiola rosea, panxax ginseng, and more.

Some nootropics are more commonly used than others. These include nutrients like Alpha GPC, huperzine A, L-Theanine, bacopa monnieri, and vinpocetine. Other types of nootropics ware still gaining traction. With all that in mind, to claim there is a best nootropic for everyone would be the wrong approach since every person is unique and looking for different benefits.

Even the best of todays nootropics only just barely scratch the surface. You might say that we are in the Nokia 1100 phase of taking nootropics, and as better tools and more data come along, the leading thinkers in the space see a powerful future. For example, they are already beginning to look past biochemistry to the epigenome. Not only is the epigenome the code that runs much of your native biochemistry, we now know that experiences in life can be recorded in your epigenome and then passed onto future generations. There is every reason to believe that you are currently running epigenetic code that you inherited from your great-grandmothers life experiences. And there is every reason to believe that the epigenome can be hacked that the nootropics of the future can not only support and enhance our biochemistry, but can permanently change the epigenetic code that drives that biochemistry and that we pass onto our children. This is why many healthy individuals use nootropics. They have great benefits and can promote brain function and reduce oxidative stress. They can also improve sleep quality.

Well dive into the cognition - enhancing possibilities in future posts such as brain plasticity and more, but for now, here are just a few resources to get you started in exploring this domain of neurohacking:

Steven Fowkes - quora - facebook - google+ - youtube - linkedin

* Organic chemist who co-wrote the foundational book on Smart Drugs

* Founded the Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute

* Founded Project Wellbeing

* Related interests: Nutrition, Neurohacking/ Biohacking, Human Performance, Nano-tech

David Pearce - @webmasterdave - facebook* Wrote the online bible of nootropics at nootropics.com* Founder of The Hedonistic Imperative, a project outlining how bioengineering and nanotechnology will abolish suffering in all sentient life* The Hedonistic Imperative Facebook public group* The Abolitionist Project* Related Interests: Philosophy of mind, Ethics, Transhumanism, AI

Joe Cohen - @Selfhacked* Authors the blog SelfHacked* Embodies much of the neurohacker ethos; taking responsibility for his health & wellbeing and upgrading his experience through research and self-experimentation

Longecity: Brain Health - @imminst - facebook

* Forum for discussing nootropic stacks and mental health

Reddit Forum Groups - Forum for discussing nootropics and cognitive enhancers

* r/Nootropics/ - @CognitvEnhancer , @Smart_Drugs, @Nootropix

* r/CognitiveEnhancement/

* r/DrugNerds - @DrugNerds

Bluelight

* Forum for discussing brain nootropics and psychedelics

Examine.com

* An independent encyclopedia on supplementation and nutrition.

PubMed

* Citations for biomedical literature

ConsumerLab.com

* Independent testing of health and nutrition products

Educational Blogs & WebsitesNootriment* Research-backed content & reviews of effectiveness of supplementsSmarter Nootropics

Self Tracking Apps & Brain Training ProgramsCambridge Brain SciencesTrackMyStackStackDB.netNootDBDual N-BackQuantified Mind

Vendors / SuppliersCeretropic

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What are Nootropics? - Neurohacker Collective

Nootroo 5.0 The Gold Standard in Nootropics

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Nootroo 5.0 - The Gold Standard in Nootropics - Nootroo

Nootropics have been shown to enhance the learning ability of healthy adults.

The brain is more able to process and recall verbalized words if nootropics were administered prior.

Increase Memory Formation

Memory formation is facilitated by the presence of nootropics in the brain.

Greater Interconnectivity

The amount of information passing between hemispheres of the brain is significantly increased by nootropics

Enhance Learning & Memory

Improve learning acquistion and enhance resistance to learning impairments from casues such as lack of oxygen (hypoxia), electroconvulsive shock (ECS), and chemicals that tend to prevent memory formation (scopolamine).

Facilitate Interhemispheric Transfer & Synchronization

Facilitate the transfer of information from one hemisphere to the other, across the corpus callosum which increases synchronization between the hemispheres.

Non-Stimulant & Non-Sedative

Work by increasing the integration of higher-level (telencephalic) activity. On over 30 classical pharmacological tests, the original nootropic shows no activity, including as neither a central nervous stimulant nor a sedative.

Enhance Cerebral Resistance

Increase the brain's ability to resist aggressions and increase recovery time after loss of oxygen, physical trauma, and many chemical intoxications.

StrengthenControl of SubcorticalProcesses

While not acting on directly the central nervous system, nootropics are still able to modulate cortical tonic control, as seen in central nystagmus and spinal fixiation.

Non-Toxic & Low-to-No Side Effects

Must work in harmony with the brain, being virtually free of side-effects and non-toxic even in high doses. Nootropics must not be habit-forming or cause withdrawal.

The nootropic concept had to be developed because a molecule was discovered that had properties unilke anything before it. This molecule, now known as Piracetam, was able to enhance learning and memory while being protective of the brain, and had little to no side effects.

Piracetam was the prototype for the nootropic concept and forms the greatest body of evidence on the efficacy of nootropics. The Nootroo Gold and Silver Formulas are based off of this research and include next-generation, more advanced versions of piracetam each stacked synergystically with citicoline (Cognizin).

The term nootropics is derived from the Greek words for mind and towards and means towards the mind. Nootropics are molecules that have a selective activity upon the higher-integrative mechanisms of the brain. They act directly on the parts of the brain where information is brought together on the highest level and as such are able to positively enhance the processes related to learning, speech, and memory acquisition, consolidation, and recall. To be considered a nootropic, these properties of enhanced activity must occur while also being protective of the brain and while having little to no side-effects.

In 1964, scientists in Belgium were working to develop a sleep-aid. The scientists modified the naturally occurring neurotransmitter GABA, but what resulted instead of a sleep-aid, was something much more profound, a molecule that would come to be known as piracetam. As they probed the properties of the molecule, it became increasingly clear that it was so unqiue, that an entirely new category would be required to describe it, and so in 1972, Cornlieu Giurgea proposed the nootropic concept.

Nootroo Gold & Silver is our premium nootropic stack based on the continued research into nootropics over the last 50 years. The Gold and Silver Formulas each have a different main, next-generation nootropic paired with the precursor for the memory neurotransmitter. The Gold Formula contains Noopept and Citicoline (Cognizin) and the Silver Formula contains Phenylpiracetam and Citicoline (Cognizin). Each bottle contains 30 total pills, with 15 of the Gold Formula and 15 of the Silver Formula and can be distinguished by their non-artifically colored capsules. We are now shipping our 5.0 version of Nootroo Gold & Silver Formulas.

The combination of the ingredients in both the Gold & Silver Formulas are considered to besynergistic stacks. Research shows that the underlying mechanism of the combination has a profound effect on memory enhancement. Citicoline administration alone in healthy adults alone increases the levels of the main neurotransmitter responsible for memory formation, acetylcholine in the outside areas of the brain. When combined with piracetam-like nootropics, the increased acetylcholine is brought into the hippocampus where it is more fully utilized by the brain. The combined effects of nootropics+choline are greater than either alone.

Founded in 2014, Nootroo is dedicated to creating the highest quality nootropic stacks available. Our tagline is The Gold Standard in Nootropics because of our commitment to using only the highest possible quality ingredients. In fact, that tagline (and our gold branding) comes from the fact that we used to use actual 23.5k gold flakes in our Gold Formula and 100% pure silver flakes in our Silver Formula to distinguish betwen them, before we manufactured our custom, non-artifically colored capsules. Our commitment to quality goes beyond aesthethics though, as we are commited to making sure everything else in the capsules is pure as possible. We carry out 3rd-party lab testing on all of our ingredients with a spec of 99% purity and A+ ratings, and we license the purest form of citicoline, a patented bioidentical form from Japan called Cognizin. Our capsules also contain no binding agents, fillers, excipients or anything besides the high-purity ingredients listed. With Nootroo you can be confident knowing that we never cut corners and that you always have the best nootropics available.

Understanding the Original Nootropic: Piracetam

Piracetam was shown to significantly increase the memory of healthy college students in less than 14 days of daily use on a word recall test. Nootropic effects generally increase over time and this study concluded that nootropics are "capable of extending the intellectual functions of man."

Healthy adults had a 15% increase in the number of words recalled on a test of verbal recall. Words heard by the left ear had to cross the corpus callosum in order to reach the verbal processing region on the other side of the brain in order to be verbalized.

Piracetam is not a stimulant and does not work by directly affecting the central nervous system as caffeine or an amphetamine does. Piracetam shows no activity on over 30 different tests and has demonstrated little to no side-effects, including no toxicity, even in extremely high doses.

Next-Generation Nootropics

While piracetam is an amazing molecule, its accidental discovery meant that it wasn't invented with a directed focus on cognitive enhancement or neuroprotection. Fortunately, in the intervening decades since piracetam's discovery, research labs around the world set out to make improved versions with additional benefits and they succeeded beyond their expectations. Two of the best versions created were noopept and phenylpiracetam.

Noopept is a di-peptide version of piracetam that has very high bioavailability and demonstrated anxiolytic properties. Phenylpiracetam was created by adding a "phenyl" group to piracetam which gives it increased bioavailability and some psychomotor activity.

The circles below show where the piracetam structure is within these new molecules. Taking these advanced forms of piracetam and adding a bio-identical form of the body's preferred choline source is how you get the Nootroo Gold & Silver Formulas.

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Noopept is a di-peptide version of piracetam specifically developed to be more powerful and absorbable from oral administration. The researchers from the lab that created it, specialized in creating peptide versions of other molecules, and created hundreds of modified versions of piracetam before selecting Noopept because it is was highly absorbed and "demonstrated a wide spectrum of cognition improving effects." This molecule has been demonstrated to have both positive short-term and long-term effects at enhancing memory and mental processing, especially in older populations.

In adults with (a) cognitive decline and (b) post-concussional syndrome, Noopept was shown to have an even more powerful and consistent effect compared to piracetam.

Noopept significantly increased the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain. BDNF levels control the quantity of new neurons created by the brain.

Noopept has been shown to increase the firing rate of pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus. These neurons are implicated in memory formation and recall.

CDP-Choline, as will be discussed more in depth down below, is the bodys preferred precursor for the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Supplementation of acetylcholine alone will increase acetylcholine production in the brain. Nootropics alone will increase the bodys use of acetylcholinein the process of forming memory. So when combined, the power of this increased supply to meet the brains increased neurochemical demands, has been shown to have profound effects compared to either alone.

Phenylpiracetam is a version of piracetam with an added phenyl group designed to increase processing speed and provide mental endurance. This added group increases piracetam's affinity for the receptors that control psychomotor activity (where movement and thinking are combined), while not not being a central nervous stimulant. Phenylpiraceatam has been shown to significantly speed up processing and endurance, even in single doses. It was utilized by the Russian space program for use by cosmonauts on extended missions.

Phenylpiracetam was shown to increase the amount of distance covered in exploratory trials. This correlates to an increase in mental activation and endurance.

Phenylpiracetam was shown in this study to regulate the brain waves against aggression in an epilepsy model. Autonomic normalization is a property that helps ensure consistent brain activity against things that would tend to disrupt it.

Phenylpiracetam has also been shown to prevent a memory blocking agent, scopolamine, from blocking memory formation. This is a powerful indicator of the effect of phenylpiracetam on memory formation.

One way phenylpiracetam works,is by activating and enhancing the activity of the cholinergicsystem in the brain. The cholinergic system modulates memory and learning and in order for it to operate optimally, it needs the molecule acetylcholine to be at certain levels in synapses. CDP-Choline is the precursor for acetylcholine, and by adding it to the body, the brain will increase its choline levels. By increasing the amount of choline available, the brain will then utilize more of it and in doing so, will enhance the firing mechanisms of this system. This allows phenylpiracetam to have an optimized cholinergic system to interact with.

CiticolineIn Gold & Silver Formulas:

CDP-Choline, also known as citicoline, is a precursor for the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Supplementation has been shown to increase acetylcholine production in the brain. Citicoline administration has also been shown to increase brain bioenergetics by increasing energy reserves and utilization of energy.. Studies in healthy adult women show that taking Cognizin citicoline significantly improved their verbal memory after just 28 days. Studies suggest that citicoline also can help increase dopamine receptor densities , which is the neurotransmitter associated with motivation. We license Cognizin, a patented form of Citicoline, that is the only pure, free-base form of citicoline that is bioidentical to the form found in nature.

Healthy adult women taking CDP-Choline have been shown to have an improvement in memory and focus after 28 days.

The levels of the energy carrier molecule (ATP) were increased by 13.6% by CDP Choline and cell membrane turnover was increased by more than 25%.

CDP-Choline alone in adolescent males for 28 days was shown to significantly increase psychomotor speed and improve attention compared to placebo.

CDP-Choline is an essential nutrient that is crucial in the brains processes of memory formation, attention and learning, yet most people are deficient in it. CDP-Choline is typically obtained by the body from food and supplies choline for the brain to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine as well as neuronal cell membranes. That is why simply adding it to the body results in a >25% increase in cell membrane formation as well as >10% increase in cellular energy (ATP) levels. The recommendations for adults is between 450-550 mg per day, both Nootroo Gold & Silver have approximately 500 mg of the purest form of CDP-Choline available, Cognizin branded CDP-Choline. It is made in an enzymatic process in a bioreactor that takes 6 months and is imported from Japan. This patented-form of CDP-Choline is the only form that is bioidentical to the form found in nature, in a free-base and not a salt.

Meditation is a key element to enhancing your brains ability to focus and stay on task. Mindfulness meditation can change your brain in as little at 8 weeks. We will provide resources to help you learn and sustain a meditation practice.

Exercise is crucial for optimizing brain health, metabolism and neuroplasticity. The Nootroo Protocol will teach you the most effective and efficient exercises for the brain from both the physical and mental realms.

Nootroo Gold & Silver have you covered in this category, but we will also share with you additional tips, tricks, nutrients, and supplements that can help you get the most out of your nootropics (and brain).

Sleep is crucial to memory formation, consolidation, and general brain health. We will teach you techniques to help you sleep better, increase neurotransmitter synthesis, wake up feeling more refreshed and even how to fall asleep more easily.

Diet is a key regulator of energy and how you feel. We will teach you dietary tricks to optimize your bodys metabolism so that your brain can receive more energy and utilize that energy more effectively.

The Nootroo Protocol has been designed to bring together all of the most important aspects for optimal performance and health. As a subscriber, you will receive continued access to our knowledge-base as well as a step-by-step tips and information to aid you in achieving optimal performance.

Its not like every tech worker in Silicon Valley is taking nootropics to get ahead, Burke acknowledges. Its the few who are getting ahead who are using supplements to do that... These days, he buys his stack from Nootroo, a San Francisco company.

"Tweaking brains with smart drugs to get ahead in Silicon Valley"

Nootropics are a broad category of cognitive-enhancing supplements that include a range of compounds to improve memory, focus and mood...Matzner said he wants to get these things out to as many smart people as possible so people could get smarter and make the world better.

'Nootropics gain momentum as 'smart pills

Were talking about...a new type of biology where were taking these things into our own hands but also to try and proactively go from baseline to above, said Matzner.

A real-life 'Limitless' pill? Silicon Valley entrepreneurs pursue brain hacking with nootropics, or 'smart drugs'

Nootropics are trending right now in Silicon Valley. A crop of new companies are selling these so-called productivity pills to "biohackers" looking to get an edge in work and life...A company based in San Francisco called Nootroo sells two pills -- one gold, one silver...

Nootropics, Biohacking and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Productivity

"Eric takes nootropics...a mix of compounds...that claim to improve cognitive function, increase alertness and strengthen memory and recall."

Billion Dollar Deals and How They Changed Your World | Health

[Nootroos] pills come in gold and silver formulas, which are to be taken on alternating days. Over time, theyre intended to enhance focus, memory, and cognitive function.

Nightline News dropped by to see what all the hype over nootropics is about. They interviewed a Nootroo customer to find the secret to her work hard play hard lifestyle.

The BBC came to check out what is going on in Silicon Valley with those choosing to enhance their biology and push forward science, to see if they just might end up pushing forward the world.

NPR wanted some tips on how biohacker and Nootroo founder, Eric Matzner, starts his day, so he showed them a basic adaption of the Nootroo Protocol.

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Humanity will not wait millions of years until Mother Nature will hand it a functionally better brain...[Humankind] will directly, openly and consciously take part in evolution.

In the early 1960s, scientists were working to develop a form of the neurotransmitter GABA, that would be able to cross the blood-brain barrier and potentially work as a sleep aid..

While they succeeded in developing a molecule with the ability to enter the brain, they failed at creating a sleep aid. What they discovered instead, however, was a molecule that would later prove to be much more profound.

Like a sculptor removing parts of the stone to reveal the beauty within, Corneliu Giurgea, the lead scientist at the lab, and his team would work diligently to chip away at the unknowns of piracetam, to reveal the properties within it.

After 9 years of research, Giurgea had determined that this molecule (piracetam) acted in such a unique way on the higher-level, integrative activities of the brain, that in order to classify it, the creation of an entirely new classification was required: " the nootropic approach to integrative activity of the mind."

On over 30 pharmacological tests, Piracetam was found to have no activity, including being neither a sedative nor a stimulant. It also had no toxicity and few side effects, even when given in extremely high doses, such as grams per kilogram of body weight, to mice, rats, cats, dogs, and monkeys with single or multiple doses, even over long-term administration.

In fact, because of those properties, piracetam seemed to be inactive. Had it not been for a test on nystagmus (involuntary eye movements), where they found it immediately active, piracetam likely would have been passed over. This discovery was especially intriguing to the researchers because all of the then-known agents active against nystagmus were either antihistamines or anticholinergics.

It was clear that piracetam did not fit into either of those classes, so the researchers set out to understand which class it did fit into. As they would eventually discover, no existing class embodied the properties of this "unusual" molecule.

The first human trials began in 1965 and showed that piracetam was able to significantly inhibit nystagmus. Because there was extremely low toxicity and seemingly few side-effects, they began to test piracetam in other populations. Further data reported internally then claimed "fairly good efficacy against motion sickness and vertigo" in humans. These findings lead them to search for a "more comprehensive picture of piracetam from the neurophysiological point of view."

As they were carrying out these follow up studies over 1966-1967, a series of surprising results were reported. First, results came in from a study done at a hospital in Finland on post-concussion patients. The scientists running the study wrote to Giurgea to let him know that the "patients memory seemed somehow improved, that they declared to 'think' better.".

Then came word from a trial in Brusseles on epileptic children administered piracetam. The parents of the children in the study "claimed a kind of improvement in the overall mental efficiency." And then another researcher reported to him that his Parkinsonian patients under Piracetam were "somehow more aware of their sickness."

Since Giurgea and his team had previously demonstrated piracetam selectively enhanced interhemispheric communication (see associated image), he had suspected that the compound might facilitate other cortically integrated mental functions, but at that time, he had no idea the extent.

This new information changed the course of their clinical work and they began to focus on "studies related to a potential beneficial effect of Piracetam on mental activity."

Nootropic Properties Revealed

As experimental data on the neurochemical mechanisms of piracetam continued to expand, Giurgea and his team began to zero in on some overarching properties of the molecule that would come to define the nootropic class.

In normal subjects, piracetam appeared to "activate efficiency of higher nervous function" and in the case of injury, piracetam appeared to "protect and/or facilitate restoration of normal brain activity."

From these observations and others, Giurgea surmised that piracetam, and potentially other molecules like it, "appeared to have a selective activity upon the higher-integrative mechanisms of the brain."

Enhancement of Learning & Memory

Rats learned how to exit a water maze much more quickly when on piracetam.

Facilitation of Interhemispheric Transfer

Notice the change in the amplitude of the evoked potential of the corpus callosum, without a change in morphology. Demonstrating telencephalic selectivity.

Protection Against Loss of Oxygen

Memory is protected from disruption during a loss of oxygen (hypoxia) if the rats are given Piracetam prior.

Protection From Electroconvulsive Shock

After having their brains electroconvulsively shocked, after 24-hours, rats given piracetam prior remembered 100%, while rats on placebo remembered less than 20% of the time.

Increased Control of SubcorticalProcesses

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Nootroo 5.0 The Gold Standard in Nootropics

Buy Nootropics UK

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Nootropic stacks can maximise your learning capacity, memory, focus, concentration and prevent high levels of stress. The best nootropic stack for beginners is caffeine and L-theanine. If you are an intermediate user you should try either Pramiracetam and Alpha GPC or Phenylpiracetam and Choline. Four popular nootropics: Aniracetam, Alpha GPC, Huperzina A and Vinpocetine are used by those who consider themselves as advanced users. Learning accelerator is the latest category of nootropics. iQuzil is the best cognitive enhancer for expert users. Although nootropic stacks are best known for their ability to enhance mental capacity, concentration, focus and memory, they can also be very effective at preventing the high levels of anxiety, including social anxiety. Students are likely to experience enough challenges and pressures without having to think about dealing with high levels of anxiety. The best nootropic stack to reduce anxiety and help with studying is Choline Bitatrate, Phenibut and Picamilon. The above nootropic stacks will help students to maximise their potential and reach goals by improving their brain power, working memory and focus.

Read the rest here:

Buy Nootropics UK

Nootropics | HVMN Biohacker Guide

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Nootropics are a broad classification of cognition-enhancing compounds that produce minimal side effects and are suitable for long-term use. These compounds include those occurring in nature or already produced by the human body (such as neurotransmitters), and their synthetic analogs. We already regularly consume some of these chemicals: B vitamins, caffeine, and L-theanine, in our daily diets.

A fundamental aspect of human evolution has been the drive to augment our capabilities. The neocortex is the neural seat of abstract and higher order cognitive processes. As it grew, so did our ability to create. The invention of tools and weapons, writing, the steam engine, and the computer have exponentially increased our capacity to influence and understand the world around us. These advances are being driven by improved higher-order cognitive processing.1Fascinatingly, the practice of modulating our biology through naturally occurring flora predated all of the above discoveries. Indeed, Sumerian clay slabs as old as 5000 BC detail medicinal recipes which include over 250 plants2. The enhancement of human cognition through natural compounds followed, as people discovered plants containing caffeine, theanine, and other cognition-enhancing, or nootropic, agents.

There is an ancient precedent to humans using natural compounds to elevate cognitive performance. Incan warriors in the 15th century would ingest coca leaves (the basis for cocaine) before battle. Ethiopian hunters in the 10th century developed coffee bean paste to improve hunting stamina. Modern athletes ubiquitously consume protein powders and hormones to enhance their training, recovery, and performance. The most widely consumed psychoactive compound today is caffeine. Millions of people use coffee and tea to be more alert and focused.

The term nootropic is simply a descriptor, and this descriptor spans across all legal classifications of compounds. Broadly speaking, there are four main classifications:

Nootrobox stacks are strictly derived from the first category - compounds that are GRAS and approved for human consumption as dietary supplements.

The mechanisms by which nootropic compounds influence our cognition and neurophysiology are as diverse as those of prescription drugs. We present below our in-progress work, detailing the mechanisms, effects, and history of various nootropic compounds. Check in for updates and additions.

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Nootropics | HVMN Biohacker Guide

What is a Nootropic – What are nootropics?

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

The word nootropic is derived from the greek words noos, meaning mind, and trope, meaning turning. In essence, nootropic perform one function: they turn your mind to boost your cognitive abilities and make your mental state better in some way, shape, or form.

Different groups classify different drugs as nootropics, but for the most part, everyone agrees that nootropics have two defining characteristics:

Keep in mind that nootropics are not vitamins or minerals. Usually, theyre synthetic chemicals produced in laboratories. Theyre not essential to your bodys functions. Theyre add-ons in that you use them and you feel better, but if you dont, its not like your body is lacking anything otherwise required. We do advocate getting the proper amount of essential nutrients, and minerals as a starting point to improved cognitive health. Well talk about generally optimizing brain health (your cognitive baseline) through sleep, diet, and exercise a later post.

Were being relatively vague here because there is a wide spectrum of nootropics available today. And they all claim to do different things for you. Its up to you to pick the right nootropic for what you want to accomplish. Later posts will cover the different types of nootropics, as well as specific nootropics to use in certain scenarios for studying, for sharpness, for recovery after partying, etc.

After understanding what a nootropic is, the next question that begs to be asked is, How do they work?

Every nootropic affects your body in a different way. Its important to note the distinction between results and commonly referred to as working mechanisms. One thing that we also want to note is that nootropics are a very subjective experience, and although one person may have great results with a particular nootropic, another person may have no result when using that same nootropic.

If the working mechanism for a drug is known, we know exactly how it affects your body. As in, if you ingest drug A, it affects receptors X, Y, and Z. This modification to receptors X, Y, and Z produces effects B, C, and D.

If the working mechanism for a drug isnt known, then we only know A, B, C, and D in the above example. For most nootropics, there is speculation behind the working mechanisms, but there has not been any conclusive evidence of these claims. As such, the working mechanisms being discussed are theories, not fact.

Dont let this turn you off of nootropics as a safe way to improve your mental function. The human body is incredibly complex, and we havent even begun to understand how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. We dont even know the working mechanisms for some of the most popular drugs sold worldwide.

Take acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) as an example. There have been tens of thousands of studies conducted with this drug, and after studying human reactions to it over, and over, and over again, weve come to these three conclusions:

Youd think that after tens of thousands of studies, a working mechanism would have been found, right? Unfortunately not the working mechanism for acetaminophen isnt known, and it doesnt look like well know exactly how it works anytime soon.

Take this example and apply it to nootropics. The working mechanisms usually arent known, but after observing empirical evidence over, and over, and over again, we can come to some pretty consistent conclusions about them.

Now, we know what youre thinking; If these drugs claim to enhance your cognitive abilities but the working mechanisms arent 100% known, are they legal?

The answer is both yes and no.

Yes: most nootropics are perfectly legal to possess. This means that if a police officer were to see you taking one and stop you, hed likely be suspicious (nootropics often come in the form of white powder), but if he were to conduct a field test on it, you would not be arrested or issued a ticket. Your package wont be taken if inspected by customs, etc.

No: like dietary supplements, most nootropics arent approved by the FDA. All countries vary on the legality of nootropics. In Russia, most are legal, and many are prescription medicines. We suggest that you research the laws of your country regarding possession of a particular nootropic before you order. Those are just two examples. Always do your research on your specific countrys laws before purchasing any nootropic supplements.

The cool (and sometimes off-putting) thing about nootropics is that everyone reacts differently to each one. This is pretty standard with drugs in general if we take marijuana as an example, it relaxes some people, whereas it makes other anxious and paranoid. Its your personal reaction.

In general, the effects of nootropics are fairly mild. Theyre not meant to be stimulants like adderall, ritalin, vyvanse, or concerta. Instead, they aim to take your base level of cognitive performance and bring it up. Go from being able to give 100% when not taking nootropics, to being able to give 105% or 110% when you are. If you focus in on how the nootropic is affecting you, youll be able to tell, but with the vast majority of nootropics, you wont feel over-stimulated or anything of that nature, sometime the effects are rather subtle. One thing that we suggest is tracking the efficacy of the nootropics you take to really determine the value you are getting from nootropics; this is covered later.

Also, you should expect no comedown and no come up. Nootropics work in the background. When you dose, you wont feel a rush (although some do report a tingly feeling), and when the nootropic starts to wear off, you wont feel like youre crashing. Instead, youll slowly climb to where your cognitive abilities are enhanced, and then gradually ease off of that as the chemical is depleted until youre at your normal baseline mental state.

Every nootropic out there can be categorized into a certain subset of nootropics. Here are the main ones below all popular nootropics will fall into one of these categories. Well talk about some more specific nootropics later. If youd like to skip ahead to the best nootropics for beginners, click here

Racetams (One our of favorites)

All racetams (about 20 in total, depending on who you ask) are derived from the king: piracetam. After being synthesized in the early 1970s, piracetam quickly took its place at the vanguard of the nootropic movement if you ask someone to name a nootropic, piracetam will always be the first answer.

The formula for piracetam is C6H10N2O2, and most of its derivatives such a aniracetam, oxiracetam, and pramiracetam have certain elements added or removed from that base structure. Good ol piracetam provides a wide range of cognitive enhancements including improved memory, improved verbal articulation, improved long and short term memory, etc.

More often than not, a racetam is the base of any nootropic stack. Users often add other nootropics to enhance the effects of a racetam.

If youre diving into nootropics and want the surefire bet, choose piracetam. But if you have certain needs maybe you want more energy than piracetam, or you need a creative boost then its worth checking out its derivatives. Despite their formulaic similarities, users report substantially different effects when taking them.

Choline (usually paired with racetams)

Choline isnt usually used by itself in the nootropic landscape, but its a very common addition to any nootropic combination (stack). There are two reasons for this, choline itself gives you additional cognitive enhancements, and adding choline is theorized to boost the effects of any racetam that increases acetylcholine uptake. Choline was once classified as vitamin B4 and has since been reclassified as an essential nutrient and is metabolized by the body in acetylcholine.

Before going further I want to note that acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter that is thought to be responsible for decision making and certain types of learning. Many nootropics have some effect on the way the body processes or interacts with acetylcholine and those effects generally have cognitive benefits when utilized responsibly.

To put it simply, adding in a choline source means that you have an increased amount of acetylcholine available in your body. Having plenty of acetylcholine is said to have cognitive enhancing benefits all by itself, but theyre usually amplified when you have another nootropic in the mix.

Also, there have been studies that suggest piracetam (and most other racetams) deplets the acetylcholine you havein your brain. If your body doesnot have enough acetylcholine, the end result is that youll often end up with headaches. The same works the other way, which is another reason why almost no one adds in a choline source without adding in a nootropic, as having too much acetylcholine (or anything else for that matter) is generally not a good thing. They balance each other out perfectly to give you cognitive enhancementand prevent you from getting headaches; its a symbiotic relationship that requires balancing.

Youll notice that there are two terms mentioned here acetylcholine and choline sources. Choline sources are the actual supplements you take, and once ingested, they increase your acetylcholine levels.Every choline source will produce a different amount of acetylcholine. Alpha GPC is considered to be the most potent with highest bioavailability. A rudimentary search will put you on the right track see what others users have paired with their particular nootropics to balance acetylcholine levels correctly. For more information on choline, check out our beginners guide to choline.

The Natural Ones

Natural nootropics are no different from what youd referred to as natural herbs or natural remedies; they are naturally-occurring elements (from plants) that when ingested, provide cognitive enhancing effects.

The effects of natural nootropics vary greatly, and by and large, users have vastly different experiences with each and every one. Some claim theyre straight placebo, whereas others think that they can be even more potent than their human-made counterparts. However, the general consensus is that theyre less potent than synthetic nootropics are.

This shouldnt turn you off to them as a whole. Although less potent, some natural nootropics provide benefits in some way, shape, or form that synthetic ones cant match. Generall speaking, because natural nootropics are (by definition) from nature, they are often available at a cheaper price than synthetic nootropics are. No laboratories, purity tests, etc. are needed.

Bacopi Monneri is one of the most prevalent natural nootropics. It acts as a memory and anxiety aid, but effects usually take 6-8 weeks to kick in this is a great example of natural nootropics being less potent than a synthetic memory or anxiety aid that might take effect within just a couple of days, or even immediately. Its also a great example of how one can work in a way that its synthetic counterpart cant while anti-anxiety nootropics are usually borderline sedative, users report that Bacopi Monneri works in the background so that you dont feel like youre under the influence.

Other popular natural nootropics are Huperzine-A, and Gingko Biloba. If youre interested in nootropics but arent a fan of the ones produced in laboratories, these three are great jumping-off points.

Smart Drugs

Smart drugs are where the border between nootropic and drug is tested; some consider smart drugs to be nootropics, whereas others think that they should be heavily regulated just as prescription medications are.

Modafinil is the best example of a smart drug. Its prescribed in some countries, banned in some, and completely legal in others. It promises a full-blown energy increase similar to adderall, but without the euphoria or other side effects.

Many people think that smart drugs like modafinil arent nootropics because of how they affect you. If you take a standard nootropic like piracetam for a month straight and then abruptly stop, you might notice the nootropic not being present, but you wont have any real side effects. On the other hand, dosing a smart drug like modafinil on a consistent basis and then suddenly stopping might lead to insomnia, lack of focus, etc.

Were not saying that smart drugs are bad, necessarily. Were just saying that you shouldnt expect a subtle effect like other nootropics give you. When you take one, youll easily notice the effects, and when you come off of it, youll easily notice that you arent on it.

Vitamin B & Vitamin B Derivatives

B vitamins are unique in how they affect us. One of the most popular energy drinks, 5 Hour Energy, has vitamin B6 as its main ingredient (albeit 10,000x the RDA) because of the energy boost that it gives to us.

Naturally, with such effects, B vitamins are being explored as nootropics. Its important to note that vitamin B derivatives arent the same thing as B vitamins;theyve been modified in some way to become something other than the naturally-occurring vitamin.As of 2015, vitamin B derivatives are relatively new. Sulbutiamine is a derivative of vitamin B1 that was originally developed by the Japanese to combat fatigue, and it has the largest user base out of all of them. Picamillion is also a B derived nootropic as it combines niacin (B3) with GABA . More research is needed to conclude anything about B vitamins, but if youve had success from taking a B-complex or an energy drink like 5 Hour Energy, theyre worth exploring.

Ampakides

Ampakides are generally seen as piracetam was in the 80s and 90s interesting, but not researched a whole lot. Actually, out of all of the different types of nootropics, ampakides have the least research done on them.

They appear to work by antagonizing the AMPA and NDMA receptors in your body; this in turn leads to an uptick in glutamate available for your brain to use. Glutamate is said to increase memory span and focus abilities. But again, there hasnt been a whole lot of research done on ampakides or how they will affect you in the long-term.Only use ampakides if youre an explorer and willing to ingest something that hasnt been fully studied.

Peptides

Peptides are interesting in that they operate similarly to racetams, but arent the same thing. There arent a whole lot on the market today aside from noopept.

Noopept has quickly earned a reputation for being 1,000x more potent than piracetam while having similar effects. This means that the dosage is a lot smaller whereas you need 1.6g to 4.8g of piracetam per day, you only need 10mg to 40mg of noopept per day.

Although not as popular as racetams, peptides are worth exploring. Many users report similar effects as racetams, but not identical. Some like peptides more, whereas others stick with racetams. If you dont like what you feel from a certain racetam, its worth exploring peptides.

Blends

Many companies have jumped on the nootropic bandwagon and created nootropic blends. These blends are just a bunch of nootropics combined into a single pill, which is similar to stacking nootropics all on your own just easier.

Its important to take a look at the ingredients of each blend that youre considering. Sometimes, there will be ingredients that arent nootropics, and other times, there will be a blend of ingredients that you could easily concoct yourself for a fraction of the price. Often times they dont contain proper dosages of the ingredients to make them worthwhile.

The most popular nootropic blend is Alpha Brain from Onnit; you can check out our Alpha Brain full review and analysis here. By and large, people see success with this blend, but a lot of marketing is put into it its hard to get unbiased information when you look online. Wed recommend starting with pure nootropics first, and if you find one that you like, possibly getting a blend that has your choice nootropic as the #1 ingredient. If theres something we missed, please let us know so that we can bring our customers the most relevant information possible.

In a follow up blog post we will introduce you to the best nootropics for beginners, and from there we will cover some popular combinations of the individual nootropics in our post on the best nootropic stacks.

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What is a Nootropic - What are nootropics?

Ranking the best nootropics of 2019 – BodyNutrition

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Danzig

Many deep thinkers, CEOs and people of mastery are taking nootropics, commonly known as smart drugs, for increased brain function.

(This is your ability to learn, focus, remember things, and solve complex problems)

From Joe Rogan to Tim Ferriss, smart drugs were being talked about years ago before recently hitting mainstream.

Nootropics work, but you got to be careful.

Since nootropics are such a hot topic right now, it can be hard to separate whats legit and whats whack.

Our research team looked at the scientific research in-depth to find the best nootropics on the market right now.