Monthly Archives: July 2017

We Worked Out What It Would Take to Wipe Out All Life on a Planet … – Singularity Hub

Posted: July 18, 2017 at 4:26 am

The first exoplanet was spotted in 1988. Since then more than 3,000 planets have been found outside our solar system, and its thought that around 20% of Sun-like stars have an Earth-like planet in their habitable zones. We dont yet know if any of these host lifeand we dont know how life begins. But even if life does begin, would it survive?

Earth has undergone at least five mass extinctions in its history. Its long been thought that an asteroid impact ended the dinosaurs. As a species, we are rightly concerned about events that could lead to our own eliminationclimate change, nuclear war, or disease could wipe us out. So its natural to wonder what it would take to eliminate all life on a planet.

To establish a benchmark for this, weve been studying what is arguably the worlds hardiest species, the tardigrade, also known as the water bear for its appearance. Our latest research suggests these microscopic eight-legged creatures or their equivalents on other planets would be very hard to kill off on any planet that was like Earth. The only astrophysical catastrophes that could destroy them are so unlikely theres an insignificant chance of them happening. This extreme survival ability adds weight to the idea that life is hardy enough to be found on other planets less hospitable than our own.

Tardigrades are known to survive incredible conditions. Drop the temperature briefly to -272 or raise it to 150 and they go on.Increase atmospheric pressure to more than 1,000 times that at the Earths surface, or drop it to the vacuum of space and they continue. They can survive for up to 30 years without food or water. They can even withstand thousands of grays (standard doses) of radiation. (Ten grays would be a lethal dose for most humans.)

They live all over the planet but can survive far below the oceans surface, around volcanic vents at the bottom of the Mariana Trench happily oblivious to the life and death of surface-dwelling mammals. Stripping the ozone layer or upper atmosphere would expose humans to lethal radiation but, at the bottom of the ocean, the water overhead would provide shielding.

We wanted to consider what cataclysmic events might be able to finally kill off the hardy tardigrade. What would need to happen to destroy every living thing on the planet? The simplest answer is that all the planets entire oceans would have to boil. On Earth, this would require an incredible amount of energy5.6 x 1026 joules (around a million years of total human energy production at current rates). We therefore have to consider the astrophysical events that could provide such an enormous amount of energy.

There are three primary candidates that could do this: asteroid impacts, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts. Of these, asteroids are the most familiar. Weve been hit by several over the course of Earths history. But in our solar system there are just 17 candidate objects (including dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris) large enough to provide this energyand none with orbits coinciding with that of Earth.

By looking at the rate of asteroid impacts on Earth, we can extrapolate the rate at which doomsday events like this would likely occur. This turns out to be approximately once every 1017 yearsfar longer than the life of the universe. So its very, very unlikely to ever happen.

Supernovae (massive explosions of stars) release huge amounts of energy1044 joules, which is more than enough to boil our oceans. Fortunately, the energy delivered to a planet rapidly drops off the further away it is from a supernova. So for the Earth, sterilization would require a supernova to occur within around 0.013 light-years. The nearest star apart from the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is 4.25 light years away(and is the wrong type to go supernova).

For Earth-like planets in our galaxy, the distance between stars depends on their distance from the galactic center. The central bulge is more densely populated than our neighborhood. But even closer in, given the rates at which supernovae occur, sterilization is unlikely to happen more than once in 1015 years, again far beyond the age of the universe.

Finally there are gamma-ray bursts, mysterious explosions producing enormous amounts of energy focused into jets of radiation as narrow as a couple of degrees. Analyzing these bursts as we did supernovae, we found that they could only kill off life on an Earth-like planet if their origin was within about 42 light-years and the planet lay within the beam. Again, the rate at which this would occur is sufficiently low that very few planets would ever be sterilized by a gamma-ray burst.

Given how tiny the chances are of any of these apocalyptic events actually happening, were left with the conclusion that tardigrades will survive until the Sun expands about 1 billion years from now. One final, incredibly unlikely possibility is that a passing star could kick a planet out of its orbit. But even then, volcanic vents that host some tardigrades could potentially provide heat for long enough for the planet to be captured by another star.

There are many events, both astrophysical and local, that could lead to the end of the human race. Life as a whole, however, is incredibly hardy. As we begin our search for life away from Earth, we should expect that if life had ever begun on a planet, some survivors might still be there.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Stock Media provided by Igor Zhuravlov/ Pond5

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Four Ascension track stars make All-State team – Weekly Citizen

Posted: at 4:23 am

Things just got more memorable recently when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association released its All-State track and field team. There were four of Ascension Parish's top track stars on the list.

The 2017 season saw some marvelous performances by the parishs top track and field stars and their teams.

From multiple individual standouts taking home state titles, to the Ascension Catholic girls team claiming their third straight state championship, it was surely a year to remember.

Things just got more memorable recently when the Louisiana Sports Writers Association released its All-State track and field team. There were four of Ascension Parishs top track stars on the list.

Headlining the boys All-State team was Dutchtowns Parker McBride. McBride made the All-State team for the 800 event.

He had the fastest time in the state this season for the 800 with a time of one minute and 52.68 seconds.

McBride won district, regional and state titles in the 800 this season. He was also a member of the Baton Rouge areas All-Metro team.

McBride is a Southeastern Louisiana signee.

Just last month, he made the trip to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the New Balance Nationals Outdoor event.

The Griffins finished as runners-up in District 5-5A this season, and they finished fifth at the regional meet.

The only other Ascension Parish boys track star to make the All-State team was Donaldsonvilles Davon Wright. Wright made the team in the shot put event.

Wright helped lead theTigers to a seventh-place finish at the District 6-3A meet and a 14th-place finish at the state meet.

He had the fifth-best performance in the shot put this season with a measurement of 53 feet and 6.5 inches.

After winning the state title in the event last year, Wright won a district championship in the shot put this season and finished as runner-up at both the regional and state meets.

He also made the All-Metro team. Wright is a recent Tulane football commit.

The Lady Griffins finished third at the District 5-5A meet, and they landed in seventh at the state meet.

Spearheading their efforts were Leah Scott and Tara Stuntz.

Scott made the All-State team for the second straight season in the long jump event and the triple jump.

She had the best long jump in the state this year with a measurement of 19 feet and six inches. Her triple jump was tied for fourth-best at 37 feet and 11 inches.

Scott won district and regional titles in both events. At the state meet, she won the triple jump championship for the second straight season and finished as runner-up in the long jump.

Stuntz made the All-State team for the 3,200 event. She had the third-fastest time in the 3,200 this year at 11 minutes and 23.81 seconds.

Stuntz was runner-up in the event at the district, regional and state meets.

Both Scott and Stuntz made the All-Metro team as well.

Stuntz is a 2017 Southeastern signee, along with two other parish runners in Ascension Catholics 1A 800, 1,600 and 3,200 state champion Sophie Daigle and the Bulldogs Logan Thibodeaux.

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Luxembourg passes law for space exploration – Mining Technology

Posted: at 4:22 am

The Luxembourg Government has passed a new law permitting exploration and usage of space resources, opening the possibility of mining in outer-space.

Adopted by the Luxembourg Parliament, the draft lawis part of the SpaceResources.lu initiative.

This law is aimed at easing the legal and regulatory framework that is expected to result in an enabling atmosphere for private companies to carry out exploration activities in space.

Set to be effective next month, the law is aimed at meeting future energy needs taking into consideration advances in space technology, increasing exploration of outer space and the reducing resources on Earth.

Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy tienne Schneider said: Luxembourg is the first adopter in Europe of a legal and regulatory framework recognising that space resources are capable of being owned by private companies.

"The Grand Duchy thus reinforces its position as a European hub for the exploration and use of space resources.

"Luxembourg is the first adopter in Europe of a legal and regulatory framework recognising that space resources are capable of being owned by private companies."

"The legal framework is part of the expertise ecosystem and the business-friendly, innovation-nurturing environment that Luxembourg is offering to space industry companies."

Recently, the Grand Duchy signed a joint statement on future activities concerning missions to the asteroids, related technologies and space resources exploration and utilisation with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Luxembourg and the ESA agreed to further study the technical and scientific aspects of space resources exploration and utilisation activities.

There is a growing interest from private investors and start-ups to invest in space technology,travel, and exploration.

In 2012, Space Exploration Technologies, a space transport services company founded by private investor Elon Musk, delivered cargo to and from the International Space Station using its Dragon spacecraft.

Recently, US-based Moon Express unveiled its plans to build a robotic outpost on the South Pole of the Moon by 2020, in order to land robots on it for mining water and minerals.

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STAR-CCM+ Update Incorporates HEEDS for Design Space Exploration – ENGINEERING.com

Posted: at 4:22 am

Design optimizationis something of a trendy topic right now, thanks largely to the advances in processing power coupled with the new design space allowed by additive manufacturing. Shapes that were previously impossible to manufacture are being realized, and with them, engineers are given a whole new pallet of possibilities to work with.

So it stands to reason that design software would have to evolve to meet the needs of designers working within this area.

The latest company to jump onto the design optimization bandwagon is Siemens, who has recently announced the addition of two new features into its STAR-CCM+ multiphysics analysis package.

The first feature, dubbed STAR-Innovate, incorporates HEEDS technology, which was acquired by Siemens as part of its 2016 acquisition of CD-adapco. HEEDS technology is a design optimization package that allows users to automate the design process for optimal topology for fluid flows and other computational fluid dynamics operations.

In one case study, engineers used HEEDS software to evaluate the position of a cooling system inside a computer case design. After inputting the standard model, it took just two days and 50 cores to evaluate 200 different design configurations, resulting in a 10 percent increase in cooling performance and a 50 percent reduction in heatsink mass.

Take HEED(S)! Design optimization can save time and money by automatically showing the most optimum designs. (Image courtesy of Siemens.)

The second main addition to the latest version of STAR-CCM+ is the Design Manager feature, which allows users to evaluate a number of computer-generated design options based on performance requirements.

I firmly believe that single-scenario engineering simulations are about to become a thing of the past, said Jean-Claude Ercolanelli, senior VP of product management at Siemens PLM Software. If you know how to use STAR-CCM+, you will instinctively know how to use Design Manager. This means that every engineer who installs STAR-CCM+ v12.04 can now conduct design exploration studies with ease to discover better designs faster.

You can read more case studies on how HEEDS is helping engineers to increase productivity and performance at the HEEDS Design Exploration Blog.

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STAR-CCM+ Update Incorporates HEEDS for Design Space Exploration - ENGINEERING.com

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NASA Closer to Using Nuclear Reactors for Powering Space Missions – Big Think

Posted: at 4:22 am

NASA has given new life to the idea of using nuclear fission to power space missions, something it last considered in the 1960s. Now for three years, it's been funding the development of a project called Kilopower that could be the key to colonizing Mars and other planets.

The goal of the project is to develop a "low-cost, scalable fission power system" for providing power in space. The Kilopower tech aims to achieve that by creating smaller reactors that can be combined to provide the necessary amount of energy. The scientists envision that the uranium-splitting Kilopower reactors can be used in multiples on Mars instead of one large power plant. This would result in a new generation of surface landers and human missions that originate from Mars.

In fact, the researchers estimate Mars surface missions would need around 40kW of power altogether. This amount of energy can power "about eight houses on Earth," according to NASA. The 6.5-feet-tall Kilopower reactors are each designed to provide 1-10 kW of electrical power to a spacecraft. Thanks to nuclear fission, with 4 or 5 Kilopower reactors, NASA could power a Mars colony, running with all the equipment necessary to produce fuel, clean the air and water, and charge all the batteries.

What is nuclear fission? It's the process of splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus into two lighter nuclei, releasing tremendous amounts of energy which is converted into electrical power. Atomic bombs and nuclear power plants utilize fission.

The reactors are being developed at the Los Alamos National Lab, in partnership with NASA Research Centers and other DOE National labs.

BigThink spoke to Patrick McClure, Kilopower Project Leader and Chief Reactor Designer David Poston. They were optimistic that the technology works, sharing that the idea behind the reactor originated at the Los Alamos National Lab, which was then taken on by NASAs R&D arm - the Game Changing Development Program. Their goal was to design a lean machine, simple enough to pull off a systems test. Another hallmark of the projects practical approach was to focus on adapting existing NASA technology that has been approved by regulators. Now the project is further along than any such work in the last 40 years because we are building an actual nuclear reactor, explained the scientists.

The team pointed out that the Kilopower technology could offer much more power than solar cells and the plutonium-powered Pu-238 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), currently in use by NASA. RTGs have been used to power Curiosity, Voyager and Cassini, but they only put out about 110 watts. NASA also has a problem of obtaining enough plutonium going forward, with the worldwide supplies dwindling.

One big advantage of using fission reactors as opposed to solar power, another idea being developed, is that the Kilopower tech can work in situations when sunlight is not available. Even the places on Mars that receive the most amount of sun get about one-third of the sunlight theyd have on Earth. Blinding dust storms also make solar less than ideal as a reliable supplier of power.

While more work will need to be done to scale the reactors, the Kilopower team is enthusiastic that the technology is almost there. A testing phase of the project begins to September and is supposed to wrap up by the end of 2017.

After the testing completes, NASA will debate the future of the technology as it evaluates its plans going forward. While its very promising, the size of the current team supporting this idea is only about 10-11 people. With NASAs blessing, nuclear fission reactors can become the reality of space exploration in the near future.

Heres NASA conceptual video outlining the thinking behind the Kilopower technology:

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NanoTech Gaming Inc (NTGL) Seeing Increased Action in Session – Evergreen Caller

Posted: at 4:22 am

Shares ofNanoTech Gaming Inc (NTGL) have seen the needle move-2.38% or -0.0002 in the most recent session. TheOTC listed companysaw a recent bid of $0.0082 on1075 volume.

Investors might be looking at their stock holdings and trying to gauge which ones will break out to new highs. Many investors will keep a close eye on stocks that are trading near popular marks such as the 52-week high. Stocks trading near 52-week lows also tend to garner additional attention. When a stock is flirting with a new 52-week high, investors may have to decide whether to cash in to lock in profits or wait to see if a breakthrough is going to happen. Companies that are teetering near the 52-week low may be worth taking a look at. Studying the fundamentals may show that the stock should be performing better than it is. This might be the time to think about purchasing shares that for whatever reason may have fallen out of favor with investors. Crunching the numbers and doing full analysis of stocks that have been trending down may help lead to some discoveries that could turn out to be highly valuable if and when the momentum shifts to the upside.

Digging deeping into the NanoTech Gaming Inc (NTGL) s technical indicators, we note that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -25.71. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

NanoTech Gaming Inc (NTGL) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 72.37. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for NanoTech Gaming Inc (NTGL) is sitting at 35.95. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSI for NanoTech Gaming Incis currently at 51.12, the 7-day stands at 54.82, and the 3-day is sitting at 64.73.

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Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) Director Bernhard Zinkhofer Sells … – The Cerbat Gem

Posted: at 4:22 am

Nanotech Security Corp (NTS) Director Bernhard Zinkhofer Sells ...
The Cerbat Gem
Nanotech Security Corp (CVE:NTS) Director Bernhard Zinkhofer sold 87500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th.
Nanotech Security Corp (CVE:NTS) Director Bernhard Zinkhofer ...Community Financial News

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Speeding towards WW3: US and Australia launch HIFiRE ‘hypersonic’ missile in new arms race – Express.co.uk

Posted: at 4:21 am

The successful launch from a remote rocket range near Woomera, in South Australia, helped staunch fears that China and Russia were racing ahead in a new hypersonic arms race, and concerns over increasingly hostile missile tests by North Korea.

The incredible speed would theoretically take a hypersonic glider from London to Australia in a little over one hour.

Although, the US has said the missiles will only carry conventional warheads, there are already fears other nations could use them to increase nuclear capabilities.

The hypersonic glider is capable of travelling at Mach8 - eight times faster than the speed of sound, from between 3,836mph (6,200kmh)to almost 8,000mph (13,000kmh).

The test was part of a project called the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation Program (HIFiRE) involving the US and Australian militaries, Queensland University, Australias Defence Science and Technology Group and private companies, including Boeing and BAE Systems.

The date of the test earlier this month has not been released, however, a video of the launch was posted online a few days ago by the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture & Information Technology of the University of Queensland, which is a partner in HIFiRE.

Just weeks ago, in May, members of US Congress raised concerns that the US was trailing behind Russia and China in the development of hypersonic weapons capabilities.

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US Navy Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, said at a Congress hearing steps needed to be taken to counter any potential threat to the US from the advancement of the technology.

He said: "I'm concerned about Chinese and Russian hypersonic weapons development, and I expressed those concerns in the right places.

"What we can do is to develop our own hypersonic weapons and improve our defences against theirs."

Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said the launch: takes us one step closer to the realisation of hypersonic flight.

She said it raised the military potential of Australia, as by having mastered the technology of hypersonic flight, the nation would be in a better place to respond to future threats.

There had been earlier launches under the 41m project, including those in Hawaii and Norway in 2012.

Mrs Payne said the latest launch was the end of the tests as part of the HiFiRE series.

I'm concerned about Chinese and Russian hypersonic weapons development, and I expressed those concerns in the right places.

US Navy Admiral Harry Harris

However, she added that Australia aims to maintain its position at the leading edge of hypersonic research and looks forward to arranging further hypersonic flight experiments with the US.

There are faster intercontinental ballistic missiles around, but the hypersonic glider has better maneuverability, and is less easily detected on approach.

BAE Systems Australia said in a statement that "the successful flight trial was the most complex of all HIFiRE flights conducted to date".

The US has said it will only use the missiles for conventional weapons.

Some experts fear once the technology is perfected, other nations will use them for nuclear warheads, and then the US will be forced to follow suit.

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US and Japanese flags are visible on the USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan

But that hasn't stopped a number of experts voicing concerns that other nations will use the technology to launch a nuclear strike.

Yousaf Butt, a nuclear physicist and visiting research fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, told the Huffington Post: "Washington had always intended for the new 'hypersonic boost-glide' weapons to remain purely conventional

"But Russia and China seem to be pursuing nuclear variants.

"If the hypersonic arms race heads in a nuclear direction, Washington may be pressured to follow."

So far in 2017 North Korea has fired 17 missiles, despite an outcry from the United States.

There are fears it could now even have the capability to fire a missile that could reach the US, potentially sparking World War 3.

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China deploys NUCLEAR BOMBERS over islands in major WW3 taunt – Daily Star

Posted: at 4:21 am

CHINA has flown six nuclear capable bombers over a set of disputed islands in a major World War 3 taunt.

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The H-6K bombers did a number of drills over the Bashi Channel and Miyako Straight in the last few days and sparked outrage in Japan.

But the territory sits right between the Sakishima islands and Okinawa, which links to the Japanese mainland.

The Channel is also of huge importance in terms of global trade with world powers jostling for control of its fish stocks and for its access to shipping lanes.

But Beijing has taunted its Japanese neighbours, telling them to "get used to it".

We live in turbulent times. Trump has the keys to nuclear weapons, and could end work to prevent climate change. Putin is looming in the East, the far-right are on the rise in Europe and Kim Jong-un is developing nuclear weapons of his own. Is this the END of days?

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Before his inauguration, Donald Trump asked a security expert three times during a briefing, why the US couldn't use nuclear weapons after he becomes president.

They will feel better after getting used to such drills

A spokesman for the Chinese Government said: [Our] air force over the past week conducted multiple drills far out at sea, with H-6K bombers and many other types of aircraft flying through the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait, testing actual battle capabilities over the sea."

They added the move was part of "routine exercises".

And Colonel Ren Guoqiang Guoqiang told Chinese media: It is legitimate for Chinese military planes to fly through the strait, and more similar training will be conducted on the high seas as needed.

The parties concerned dont need to overact and make a great fuss about it."

He added:They will feel better after getting used to such drills.

Japan has previously expressed its outrage at China flying into contested territories before.

It is just one of the tactics the superpower uses to assert its dominance in the region.

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Can Psychedelics Be Therapy? Allow Research to Find Out – New York Times

Posted: at 4:20 am

More common are studies of the use of psychedelics to treat abuse or addiction to other substances. A 2012 meta-analysis of studies exploring LSDs potential to treat alcoholism looked at six randomized controlled trials. They included more than 500 patients, with follow-up of three to 12 months. The interventions usually involved one dose of LSD, given in a supervised setting, coupled with therapy. Alcohol use and misuse were significantly reduced in the LSD group for six months; differences seemed to disappear by one year. Similar studies using psilocybin have also shown promising results.

There was an open label study meaning theres no placebo or attempt to mask treatment information of three doses of psilocybin as part of a tobacco cessation program. It found that 12 of 15 participants (who had smoked an average of more than 30 years) remained abstinent six months after the program began and 16 weeks after their last treatment. Thats a much higher rate than seen in traditional programs to help people quit smoking.

Other uses might exist as well. Researchers examined the potential for MDMA in the treatment of chronic and treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder. At two months after therapy, more than 80 percent of those in the treatment group saw a clinical improvement versus only 25 percent of those in the placebo group. These researchers later followed up with participants in the study, and found that the beneficial effects lasted for at least four years, even with no further treatment with psychedelics. Similar studies have also seen improvements in symptom scores.

As with marijuana, though, studies like these are the exception, not the rule. It is very, very difficult to do research on psychedelic compounds because they, like pot, are classified as Schedule I controlled substances, meaning they have a very high potential for misuse and no accepted uses. Schedule II drugs also have a high potential for abuse, but are considered to have potential benefits. These include OxyContin, fentanyl, Percocet and even opium.

To engage in research in Schedule I drugs, scientists have to get approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration. To obtain a license, research labs must have inspections to prove that they are capable of storing the drugs and protecting them from misuse. In Britain, the added costs of licensing and security can cost a lab about 5,000 a year, or nearly $6,500. Unfortunately, the costs in the United States are not as well documented.

Because of this, much of the research on these drugs is old; a lot of it took place before the United States and other countries categorized these drugs in the 1960s. What research has occurred since has often taken place in countries that are more permissive in their experiments.

Given the potential dangers inherent in these drugs, its important to stress that research would need to be closely monitored. Although the drugs are relatively safe compared with substances like heroin or cocaine, and arent nearly as addicting, they still pose psychological and physical risks.

People with a family or personal history of psychotic or psychiatric disorders should be particularly wary, and perhaps be excluded from trials. Research requires safety monitoring, careful planning and significant support throughout. We need to watch carefully for adverse outcomes, both expected and unexpected. We need to make sure protocols are transparent and reproducible.

We also need to acknowledge that we need more research before anyone attempts to use these drugs as medicine. Theyre typically coupled with professional therapy in studies, and we still arent sure there are benefits.

But it may be time to time to reconsider our current classification of controlled substances. Clearly we must continue to be vigilant about whether drugs pose physical harm to patients. But we could assess drugs using additional measurements, including the potential for dependence; social costs through damaged family and social life; and financial costs through health care, social care and the need for police involvement.

Using these metrics, its hard to argue that alcohol and tobacco should be legal for adults while marijuana and psychedelics should be considered so dangerous theyre hard to study. Likewise, opioids are considered widely acceptable in practice, yet appear to do far more harm.

With the potential to help curb more serious addictions and ease the symptoms of mental illnesses, it seems odd to continue to make it nearly impossible to research the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

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