Salmon exposed to cocaine and its main byproduct roam more widely(www.science.org)
37 pointsby 16594470915 hours ago7 comments
  • somenameforme3 hours ago
    Could this not have been simply an instinct to find cleaner waters? I'm surprised they didn't add another control group which injected something unpleasant that could be naturally found in an area, but would be undesirable - ammonia, some sort of acid, or something along those lines.
    • kees9912 minutes ago
      Agree with your point overall, but ammonia in particular is a poor example.

      Fish lack urea cycle, so they produce and excrete significant amounts of ammonia as part of normal metabolism.

    • anthonjan hour ago
      The title ie a bit misleading:

      The study want to prove that cocaine is yet another polluter thar alters the fish behaviour even in the small quantities that can be found in the wild in polluted areas. Not that something is special or different about cocaine pollution.

      So the control group in this case are fishes with an implant with no drug at all.

      https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)...

  • shrubble28 minutes ago
    I learned recently about “Vin Mariani” a wine from the 1860s that was fortified with coca leaves and contained 6mg per liquid ounce of the wine; except for the bottles sold in USA where it was 7.2mg per ounce, because there were other patent medicines that had cocaine in them and the manufacturer added a bit more to be competitive in the market.

    The Pope of the time loved the stuff and awarded the company a Vatican medal for it.

  • throwa356262an hour ago
    And just like that, smoked Salmon became popular again :)

    BTW, did you knew municipalities can easily measure fluctuations in drug usage by testing the sewage water? In fact, sometimes they can see clear differences between different parts of the city.

    • hmokiguess28 minutes ago
      Is data like that sold anywhere? I wonder if there’s an analytics market for profiling neighborhoods based on sewage water content now. If my browser history wasn’t already rock bottom, that’s a new low for the ad market
  • pixelpoetan hour ago
    Shine on you crazy salmon
  • api33 minutes ago
    Cocaine bear, cocaine shark, cocaine… salmon?
  • throwpoasteran hour ago
    We’re looking at you, Vancouver.
  • zhouzhao4 hours ago
    If that is not one good argument to start producing cocaine locally, then I don't know!

    Save the fish.

    • HPsquared3 hours ago
      Roaming more widely may not be healthy for the salmon.
      • parodysbird2 hours ago
        Whether it is or is not, is not a function of the cocaine though, but rather idiosyncrasies of the wider ecologies the salmon are in.

        If roaming more widely introduces them to more productive food opportunities (or, lower predation) than their closer ecology, then it would be beneficial for them. If it does not, then it wouldn't be. Neither context is determined in the basic finding that cocaine causes them to roam more widely.

      • grebcan hour ago
        They’re in a better mood though.
      • finghin3 hours ago
        I think another study is in order examining how cocaine affects breeding habits.
    • kvgran hour ago
      What about the rats and turtles in sewers? They might become more agresive!
      • zhouzhao6 minutes ago
        Gotta give them something to improve their perception of their living conditions!
      • lynx9718 minutes ago
        There is trash 80s "horror" movie waiting to be made.