The beer goggle effect goes way beyond the human practice of sitting at the bar ogling suddenly-stunning fellow-drinkers. It applies to bugs too—and the phrase carries extra relevance to certain male buprestid beetles. University of Toronto biology professor Darryl Gwynne just snagged an “Ig Nobel” prize—parodies of the more renowned Scandinavian awards—for his research on jewel beetles’ habit of hitting on stubby beer bottles when intoxicated. He and his Aussie colleague David Rentz finally won recognition for their 1983 paper Beetles on the Bottle: Male Buprestids Mistake Stubbies for Females. “I’m honored, I think,” Gwynne responded: “David and I have been waiting by the phone for two decades… and it finally happened.” Gwynne and Rentz were conducting fieldwork in Western Australia about 23 years ago when they noticed the unnatural sex: “We were walking along a dirt road with the usual scattering of beer cans and bottles when we saw about six bottles with beetles on top or crawling up the side. It was clear the beetles were trying to mate with the bottles.” The males mounted the beer bottles determinedly, completely ignoring the nearby females. Such is their ardor that their mating attempts often end in death, as they pump away until they either fry in the heat, or get eaten by visiting ants. So here’s the theory: these particular bottles, known as “stubbies,” resemble a super-alluring, big and orangey-brown female jewel beetle, with an irresistible dimpled surface near the bottom—and they reflect light in a similar way to the females’ wings. To any who doubt the value of these revelations to science, Gwynne insists the research has a serious message, as the shunning of the female beetles could really impact the natural world. It supports the more broadly-held theory that due to their overwhelming eagerness to copulate, many males—especially the drunken ones—are prone to making mating mistakes.

Addiction Vaccine is “Tantalizingly Close,” Jackson Case Doc Says Propofol Is “Hospital Only,” and Bizarre Law Sees Cinema Fined for Serving Booze in Hangover II.

Image: 

Cardiologist Thao Nguyen Photo via

Health officials are warning about U.S. cocaine that has been laced with a veterinary dewormer

In July, Dr. Janda’s lab of 25 researchers announced that it had produced a vaccine that blunted the effects of heroin in rats, the New York Times reports. Rodents given the vaccine didn’t experience the pain-deadening effects of heroin and stopped helping themselves to the drug, presumably because it ceased to have any effect. Though he has made headway in his research, Dr. Janda has not yet received approval from the Food and Drug Administration because the vaccines have yet to produce consistent results in humans during clinical trials, according to the New York Times. “It’s like having the carrot right in front of the horse,” he said, as reported by the New York Times. “The big problem plaguing these vaccines right now is difficulty predicting in humans how well it’s going to work.” Dr. Janda says he also attempted to create vaccines against alcohol and marijuana abuse, however both failed. In the case of alcohol, he said, ethanol molecules proved just too small to attach to the protein that would deliver the immunity, the New York Times reports. The marijuana vaccine failed because tetrahydrocannabinol, the main ingredient that produces the high, hides too well inside the body.

Anyone with an interest in addiction would be well-advised to skip the reality TV shows tonight and tomorrow night in favor of a three-part PBS documentary series by Ken Burns called Prohibition. Using rare archival footage from the era of the “noble experiment”—which lasted from 1920 to 1933—along with smart and witty talking heads like writer Pete Hamill, who has three decades of sobriety. Critics agree with us that Burns has come up with a remarkably entertaining and informative take on one of the most bizarre periods of American history. Burns (The Civil War and Baseball) makes the most of Prohibition’s large cast of colorful characters, like abstinence evangelist Carrie Nation and big-time bootlegger Roy Olmstead, even if his re-creations are, in his typical style, heavy on the schmaltz. Prohibition is well worth your time for its sharp social analysis of the many interests that combined to persuade the American people to go to the polls and vote away one of their most valued pleasures. Its approach is rich with humor, but the message is serious, and draws striking parallels with our current national politics. Tune in tonight and Tuesday at 8 pm EST on PBS.

Watch the full episode. See more Ken Burns.

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Bukaty’, ], [ [[‘including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops’, 5], [‘Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration’, 6]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/yemen-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos of unrest in Yemen’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UUZ_CmgwS6mLf75U4D9flA–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/ea314f80041a2115f90e6a706700681f.jpg’, ‘460’, ‘ ‘, ‘AP/Hani Mohammed’, ], [ [[‘Dolores Hope’, 7]], ‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dolores-hope-dies-at-age-102-1316466341-slideshow/’, ‘Click image to see more photos of Dolores’, ‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/PVmQlI81830Gw1RqCrESFA–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MzA7cT04NTt3PTUxNg–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4ca0b51519923d15f90e6a70670063b1.jpg’, ‘460’, ‘ ‘, ‘AP’, ] ]

Susan Silva knew something was wrong with her son when things began missing from her home.

She noticed the DVD player was gone. Then, the Xbox went missing, she said. Finally, her bracelets, rings and jewelry belonging to her grandmother had vanished.

“Every time that would happen, we’d realize he was into heavy using again,” said Silva, a married mother of four, from her East Bridgewater home recently.

Her 24-year-old son, Mike Kujanpaa, became addicted to Oxycontin after having surgery at 19, she said. His addiction progressed to heroin – a discovery Silva and her husband, Rick, made in November 2009 when they were rearranging her son’s room, she said.

“We found two syringes under the mattress,” said Silva, 48.

Silva said she is speaking out about her son’s drug addiction so other parents can watch for warning signs, and get their children help.

She will speak on Tuesday during “Don’t be blindsided,” an informational forum about drug addiction. The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mitchell Middle School. The public is invited to attend.

The forum, a partnership between East Bridgewater Public Schools and the police department, is sponsored by Bridgewater Savings Bank.

In recent years, there has been a surge of teenagers and young adults abusing OxyContin and, after getting hooked, turning to cheaper heroin. Two series published in The Enterprise, “Wasted Youth” and “Wasted Youth: Deadly Surge,” chronicled the problem across the region.

Police said opiate abuse among teens and young people is fueling crimes across the region.

“On a daily basis we’re investigating housebreaks, car breaks, larcenies, and the majority of them are being committed by heroin and Oxycodone addicts,” Detective Michael Jenkins said Sunday.

Jenkins said the problem of opiate addiction among young people, who use Percocet, Oxycodone and heroin, is “epidemic” in the region.

Drug task force officials and state police arrested a 22-year-old East Bridgewater woman on “street level” heroin distribution charges on Friday. Police said it is the second such arrest in East Bridgewater this month.

Police charged Katelyn Boutiette, 22, of 28 Loring Road, East Bridgewater, with possession with intent to distribute heroin following a months-long investigation.

Meanwhile, Silva, the East Bridgewater mother, said her son tried to hide his heroin addiction by using needles in places not visible to her eye.

“He was shooting up between his toes so no one would notice,” Silva said.

He went into detox programs a half-dozen times, she said.

On July 31, 2010, her son overdosed in his bedroom – a wake up call for the entire family, she said.

Her son has since moved into Compass Point Ministries, a Baptist home for men in Brockton, and has been clean for three months, Silva said.

She is hoping her story will help other families going through similar experiences, she said.

“Everybody says, ‘Oh, not my family, not my kid,’” Silva said. “Well, with this, it can be your family, it can be your kid.”

Susan Silva knew something was wrong with her son when things began missing from her home.

She noticed the DVD player was gone. Then, the Xbox went missing, she said. Finally, her bracelets, rings and jewelry belonging to her grandmother had vanished.

“Every time that would happen, we’d realize he was into heavy using again,” said Silva, a married mother of four, from her East Bridgewater home recently.

Her 24-year-old son, Mike Kujanpaa, became addicted to Oxycontin after having surgery at 19, she said. His addiction progressed to heroin – a discovery Silva and her husband, Rick, made in November 2009 when they were rearranging her son’s room, she said.

“We found two syringes under the mattress,” said Silva, 48.

Silva said she is speaking out about her son’s drug addiction so other parents can watch for warning signs, and get their children help.

She will speak on Tuesday during “Don’t be blindsided,” an informational forum about drug addiction. The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mitchell Middle School. The public is invited to attend.

The forum, a partnership between East Bridgewater Public Schools and the police department, is sponsored by Bridgewater Savings Bank.

In recent years, there has been a surge of teenagers and young adults abusing OxyContin and, after getting hooked, turning to cheaper heroin. Two series published in The Enterprise, “Wasted Youth” and “Wasted Youth: Deadly Surge,” chronicled the problem across the region.

Police said opiate abuse among teens and young people is fueling crimes across the region.

“On a daily basis we’re investigating housebreaks, car breaks, larcenies, and the majority of them are being committed by heroin and Oxycodone addicts,” Detective Michael Jenkins said Sunday.

Jenkins said the problem of opiate addiction among young people, who use Percocet, Oxycodone and heroin, is “epidemic” in the region.

Drug task force officials and state police arrested a 22-year-old East Bridgewater woman on “street level” heroin distribution charges on Friday. Police said it is the second such arrest in East Bridgewater this month.

Police charged Katelyn Boutiette, 22, of 28 Loring Road, East Bridgewater, with possession with intent to distribute heroin following a months-long investigation.

Meanwhile, Silva, the East Bridgewater mother, said her son tried to hide his heroin addiction by using needles in places not visible to her eye.

“He was shooting up between his toes so no one would notice,” Silva said.

He went into detox programs a half-dozen times, she said.

On July 31, 2010, her son overdosed in his bedroom – a wake up call for the entire family, she said.

Her son has since moved into Compass Point Ministries, a Baptist home for men in Brockton, and has been clean for three months, Silva said.

She is hoping her story will help other families going through similar experiences, she said.

“Everybody says, ‘Oh, not my family, not my kid,’” Silva said. “Well, with this, it can be your family, it can be your kid.”

Maria Papadopoulos may be reached at mpapadopoulos@enterprisenews.com.

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Researchers into “magic mushrooms” have found out for themselves what users always suspected. Just a single trip can prompt an enduring but “positive” personality change in almost 60% of subjects—the increased levels of “openness” discovered encompass possible boosts to adventurousness, curiosity, imagination and vocabulary. This is startling, as personality traits have long been regarded as largely stable characteristics. The researchers, at John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, were experimenting with psilocybin, the active ingredient in ‘shrooms. Study author Roland R. Griffiths, a psychiatry and neuroscience professor, said, “psilocybin actually changes one domain of personality that is strongly related to traits such as imagination, feeling, abstract ideas and aesthetics, and is considered a core construct underlying creativity in general.” What’s more, “the changes we see appear to be long term.” Researchers used 51 “psychologically healthy” volunteers—almost all deemed themselves “spiritually active” and more than half had completed postgrad education. These brainy guinea pigs were given “moderate to high” psilocybin doses over two to five sessions of about eight hours, while lying down wearing eye masks and headphones with music. Each time neither they nor their monitors knew whether they’d been given the drug or a placebo. Follow-up “states-of-consciousness” testing showed that most baseline personality traits remained unchanged—neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness matched pre-drug testing. But “openness” not only increased dramatically, but remained elevated throughout a 14-month follow-up period. The findings echo what a long line of luminaries like Aldus Huxley, Timothy Leary, tribal shamen and AA founder Bill Wilson have believed; counter-culture author Ken Kesey once said, “LSD lets you in on something…And I don’t know of anybody who hasn’t come back from that being more humane, more thoughtful, more understanding.” The news follows reports that August’s Hurricane Irene may have helped produce a bumper crop of magic mushrooms on the East Coast. But the study’s authors add the obligatory disclaimer: “we certainly don’t want to imply that there’s not risk associated with these compounds,” stressed Griffiths. “And we wouldn’t want to be a reason for an uptick for non-medical, uncontrolled use of this sort of thing.”

One drunken joyrider had an irony-filled night in Chicago this weekend. At 1:40 am on Sunday morning, 36-year-old local Juan Hernandez, in an advanced state of intoxication, came upon two paramedics loading an empty stretcher into an unoccupied ambulance at the city’s Norwegian-American Hospital. As they busied themselves at the back of the vehicle, Hernandez opportunistically jumped into the front and drove off, say the police. But he only got about a mile and a half—smashing into a few parked cars along the way—before crashing to a final halt. The injuries he sustained—which, fortunately, were only minor—meant that a second ambulance had to be dispatched to collect him. And rush him straight back to the Norwegian-American Hospital, which may have seemed vaguely familiar, his condition notwithstanding. Hernandez’ next stop is likely to be the courthouse; his charges include criminal damage to government property, possession of a stolen vehicle, reckless driving, driving without a license and, of course, a DUI. But drunken ambulance theft isn’t as unusual a crime as you might think—a wasted Wisconsin resident aged 24 went one better by hijacking an ambulance complete with paramedics treating an injured person in the back in February 2010. And 52-year-old Paul John Sos stole yet another ambulance after checking himself out of a San Diego hospital a couple of months later, to which he’d been brought—by an ambulance—dead drunk.