Methadone binds to the same receptors as heroin and other opioids

Opioids mimic naturally produced endorphins to dull pain

Once in the body, opioids bind to naturally occurring opioid receptors typically used by endorphins to temper pain. They trigger the release of dopamine, a desire-related hormone, and decrease noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter involved in heart and breathing rate regulation, meaning high doses can slow these processes to dangerous levels.

The story of Marie Nyswander, the woman who co-discovered methadone maintenance

Methadone, an opioid with distinct effects from heroin, revolutionized heroin addiction in the 1960s. Marie Nyswander was a psychoanalyst who helped discover the treatment process which is still in use today. Here's a podcast episode examining her life and role in the field of addiction treatment.

Naltrexone blocks the reward effects of alcohol and opioids

Naltrexone is used to treat alcohol and opioid dependence, blocking opioid receptors in the brain, reducing cravings, and preventing the euphoric effects of alcohol or opioids. It is nonaddictive and works best as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, including counseling or therapy, to support long-term recovery.

Fentanyl is better at crossing the blood-brain barrier than other opioids

Among opioids, fentanyl is uniquely adept at crossing the blood-brain barrier—the brain's security fence against harmful substances. This enables a lightning-fast high. It ends just as quickly, sometimes within minutes (where a heroin high lasts hours), and still results in the same withdrawal symptoms.

Narcan is an opioid antagonist that can rapidly reverse overdoses

Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, is an opioid-overdose reversal medication that typically begins working within a few minutes. An opioid antagonist, the treatment attaches to opioid receptors without activating them, forcing opioid molecules out of their respective receptors and allowing users' breathing rates to normalize.

Drug tolerance and withdrawals are consequences of overloading dopamine circuits

Addictive substances or behaviors will typically flood our brains with more dopamine than usual. In response to the overstimulation, our brains will decrease the number of available dopamine receptors. This results in the need for more stimulus for the same response (tolerance) and a rise in negative feelings when the stimulus is absent (withdrawal).

Morphine, heroin, codeine, and more were derived from opium

Opium reached the US at about the time early colonists were itching for ways to soothe aches and pains. The active ingredient in the substance was isolated in the early 19th century, eventually leading to the manufacture and commercial sale of morphine, heroin, and other opium-based drugs.

Drugs 101: An interactive guide

What's the difference between opioids and psychedelics? This guide details specific drugs and their various associated effects. Drugs in this wheel fall into seven categories: stimulants, depressants, empathogens, psychedelics, dissociatives, cannabinoids, and opioids.

DBS effectiveness in treating addiction remains uncertain amid inconsistent results

Critics argue that deep brain stimulation should be considered a last resort and not a scalable solution, given its high costs and trials limited to small samples. However, it has helped some patients manage severe opioid use disorder when conventional methods didn’t work.

Ibogaine is being investigated for treating mental health issues and substance abuse

This compound, which is illegal to use in the US, has had promising results for patients who have tried it in other countries for substance abuse and mental health concerns. This psychoactive substance is not without risks, however; this TED talk points out it's also caused fatal cardiac arrhythmias and shouldn't be taken without medical supervision.

Drug trafficking in the MENA

The Middle East and North Africa is a major source, transit point, and consumer of illicit drugs. Despite having some of the harshest penalties for drug-related crimes, the region both influences and is negatively impacted by illicit substance abuse...

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Pulitzer-winning look at the opioid epidemic

Synthetic opioids kill someone in the US every 16 minutes. Communities across the country have been ravaged by deaths, overdoses, jail time, and babies born with drug-related medical problems as opioid abuse became a typical feature of many American towns. This seven-part exposé provides an inside look at the effect in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky.

Mifepristone, approved in 2000, is used to end early pregnancies

The drug works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that is needed to support pregnancy. Mifepristone is typically used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, because this regimen often causes less cramping and bleeding than just using misoprostol alone.

​Why heroin became associated with the grunge world

The drug was popular with several Seattle acts in the early 1990s, with artists like Hole's Courtney Love even publicizing her use in a magazine profile. A 1992 New York Times story on Seattle said the city's principal drugs were "espresso, beer, and heroin."

See the differences between the Wegovy pill and injection

Examine this chart that compares and contrasts the oral and injectable Wegovy formulations. The differences include how they are absorbed by the body (through the digestive tract versus subcutaneously), their dosages, and the required timing (the pill is taken daily and has specialized timing requirements, while the injected form is administered once a week). Importantly, the pill form is also approved to treat fewer conditions.

LSD's molecular structure closely resembles the neurotransmitter serotonin

Lysergic acid diethylamide (C20H25N3O) is a colorless, odorless, and flavorless chemical compound that can induce altered perception, mood, and cognition. One of its roles in the brain is as a serotonin agonist, meaning it enters serotonin receptors and triggers a fraction of the response the neurotransmitter would typically warrant.

Across a 20-year period, methane has more than 80 times the warming potential of CO₂

However, this greenhouse gas lasts only about 12 years in the atmosphere, much less than the centuries or more that carbon dioxide can persist. Methane is produced primarily during the production, storage, and transmission of coal, natural gas, and oil, as well as from the digestive processes of domestic livestock.

Genetic drug matching, called pharmacogenomics, can help avoid dangerous drug reactions

Certain gene variants can affect how quickly or slowly medications are broken down in the body, affecting drug effectiveness and the risk of drugs failing. Such testing is often not covered by insurance companies though research indicates if these tests were performed for more than six drugs across the US population, avoided ailments would likely climb into the hundreds of thousands. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Why might someone want to stay in psychosis?

Author Abigail Gosselin writes that her verbal auditory hallucination, often assumed by others to be harmful or threatening in nature, offered a salve to loneliness, even as it told her to kill herself. This perceived benefit and others Gosselin shares offer insight into why people in psychosis may struggle to adhere to treatment and medication plans.

The word allergy is partly derived from the Greek word 'allos' for 'other'

For people with allergies, their immune systems recognize substances as a harmful "other"—cuing an inflammatory response. This podcast explores allergy details and related topics, including how scientists are interested in if the same allergic response mechanisms could underpin other health issues, including severe, painful symptoms around the time of menstrual cycles. Since estrogen acts on white blood cells called mast cells, which leads to the release of histamines—similar to what happens during allergic responses—an understudied question is whether the same process is fueling some of the uncomfortable symptoms around menstruation. An allergist guest notes this raises questions about if antihistamine medications like Pepsid might alleviate them, something that hasn't yet been explored in clinical trials.

Medicare doesn’t provide coverage for outpatient prescription drugs

However, it's possible to buy a separate Part D prescription drug policy that covers prescription drugs, or a Medicare Advantage plan that covers both medical and drug costs. This article details a list of eight things that Medicare does and does not cover.

Drug-resistant staph infection is one of the deadliest superbugs

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)—the superbug version of staph infection—is responsible for more deaths than any other superbug, killing more than 120,000 people globally each year. The bug is leading cause of hospital infections, and is harmless on the skin but causes severe symptoms once inside the body.

Herd immunity works by slowing down viral transmission until it dies out

Herd immunity refers to a population whose vaccination rates against a given virus are high enough that transmission dies out before the bug can find the next unvaccinated person to infect. Rates needed to achieve this depend on how contagious a virus is. This video gives a quick visual explanation of how it works.

Umami synergy—combining glutamates and nucleotides—can amplify a meal

While glutamates are known for triggering the umami taste through specific taste receptors, nucleotides like IMP and GMP can bind alongside glutamates to enhance the receptor's response. This union explains why certain classic food combinations like bacon and eggs taste exceptionally savory.

Mitochondria—only inherited from mothers in most animals—have their own DNA

Mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, typically takes the shape of a circle and contains genes that code for proteins essential to the production of energy-containing molecules called ATP. When mitochondria fuse, the mixing of healthy and damaged mtDNA helps alleviate the effects of mutations that may have occurred during mitochondrial division or environmental interactions.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology