This drug solves so many problems, but nothing really medical. In fact, it’s been called “a drug in search of a disease.”
It’s called afamelanotide and essentially, it stimulates the body’s melanin production. In plain language, it’s a drug that gives you a tan.
Without sitting in the sun all day, with no risk of burning, and without paying high fees at a salon with dodgy lights. A perfect golden tan.
I suspect that it does so without increasing your risk of skin cancer, since you’re not exposing yourself to UV light, but it does apparently screw with your moles, and that’s part of what the human trials are supposed to test.
A very similar drug is available on the black market right now, though — and although people love getting a risk-free tan, it’s the side effects that keep it going.
This street version of the drug, marketed as Melanotan II, does more than give you a tan. The serious side effects include weight loss, increased libido, and more and better erections.
This is one drug where they hope the official version actually has increased side effects!
(via Wired)
Grant Hamilton
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http://melanotan.org/ Melanotan / afamelanotide