Channel: Fw:Thinking

Category: Science & Technology

Tags: fwthinkingpainstem cellfutureaddictionfuturismscience newsspider toxinsevolutiontechnologyhumanityopioids

Description: In the U.S. alone in 2014, over 14 thousand people died from overdoses involving prescription opioids, according to the CDC. A national survey that year reported that almost 2 million Americans were abusing or physically dependent on prescription opioids. A thousand Americans go to the emergency room every day for misusing these drugs. So how can we solve the problem of pain in a way that doesn't create a host of new problems on its own? In this episode we look at the future of pain management - everything from using spider toxins to growing new neurons from a patient's tissue using stem cell technologies, and because pain changes our brain's connections and chemistry, we also discuss the biggest player in the way we experience pain: The Mind. If science gave you the chance, would you sign up for a procedure that made pain emotionally neutral information? Or do you think that without the distress, you wouldn't seek treatment for the pain's cause? Let us know in the comments below! ------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to Fw:Thinking: youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=fwthinking For the audio podcast, blog and more, visit the Fw:Thinking website: fwthinking.com Fw:Thinking on Twitter: twitter.com/fwthinking Jonathan Strickland on Twitter: twitter.com/jonstrickland Fw:Thinking on Facebook: facebook.com/FWThinking01 Fw:Thinking on Google+: plus.google.com/u/0/108500616405453822675