io9
Barry Bonds isn't the only guy trying to better his game with drugs. If you're trying to compete for the best grants and patents in the cut-throat science industry, you might be taking modafinil (AKA Provigil). Named "professor's little helper" in a Nature commentary today, modafinil is a stimulant that its users compare to a double shot of espresso. The best part? It's totally legal, and is available online. Find out more about it from the experts.
Two neuroscience experts interviewed in Nature, Barbara Sahakian and Sharon Morein-Zamir, talked about mind performance-enhancing drugs for healthy people who aren't suffering from disorders like ADHD or Alzheimers. They say:
In academia, we know that a number of our scientific colleagues in the United States and the United Kingdom already use modafinil to counteract the effects of jetlag, to enhance productivity or mental energy, or to deal with demanding and important intellectual challenges.Sahakian and Morein-Zamir argue that as long as people are taking performance-enhancing drugs under the care of a doctor, prescriptions should be granted on a case-by-case basis. Soldiers and air-traffic controllers, they say, are obviously prime candidates for performance-enhancers.
And, apparently, so are professors.
Professor's little helper [Nature Commentary]
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