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Science Technology

Tan With Implants Instead Of Sun 54

Posted by timothy from the g'tan-mate dept.
WolfWithoutAClause writes: "Trials of a drug called Melanotan that increases the rate of melanin production in the skin is going well, and may be released for human use in 2005. Tan in a capsule! Less skin cancer and skin aging! No more tedious tanning! The ABC News article is here."
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Tan With Implants Instead Of Sun More

Tan With Implants Instead Of Sun

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  • Now all I need is a pill that makes me trim and muscular and one that keeps me clean without requiring to shower. Then I can be a normal, healthy member of society.

    • Re:excellent (Score:2, Funny)

      by cpex ( 601202 )
      and don't forget a pill to wipe your ass, I mean talk about inconvience. :)
    • i actually heard a radio ad for some new herbal thing that gives you "a cut body that women want". whether or not it's true... that's for you to decide... i also hear lots of ads for maximus or testosterall to increase the male sex drive (like the male needs an increased sex drive). those both make you "the sex machine" and "animal in bed that your lover wants". could they be the same company? probably...
  • Can someone conferm if this is one version of the so called Barbie pill?

    If I recall, 2 versions were being developed. One for tanning (its original purpose) and one version as a both-gender viagra pill (side effect found out during testing)

    hmmm, if it is, I wonder if they got rid of the side effect?
  • From the article:

    A new phase of human clinical trials is due to begin within the next few weeks after earlier tests saw
    white-haired dogs and green frogs turn jet black when they were injected with the drug.

    This might even get that pasty-white developer's tan (tan only on the elbow of the left arm where that one piece of light comes through the crack in the window) out!

    • The only way I can conceive of this actually working is if it actually gave you a specific hormone that released large amounts of pigment into your skin... but still, how long can it last?
  • Crank it to max and let them be what they hate. Kinda like that movie the Watermellon man.
  • Finaly I can look like I went to the beach, and still stay home in the basment in front of the computer all day long.

  • Anti-tanning ? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by fogof ( 168191 )
    The same company that make tanning oils (to get your skin darker) make skin "bleachers" (for for indian/african market) ....
    I wonder if this company will make an "Anti-tanning" pill, that will make your skin whiter?

    I guess we are all going to end up being grey :)
    • "I wonder if this company will make an "Anti-tanning" pill, that will make your skin whiter?"

      Such things already exist. Examples include the skin bleaches Hydroquinone and Kojic Acid. Medically, they're used to treat pigmentation disorders, old age spots, hyperpigmented scars, etc.

      Not surprisingly, skin bleaches have also has been used in some parts of the world for cosmetic purposes -- not a recommended use, since they can have serious side effects.
  • instead of a black man turning white you got white geeks turning black Hey sign me up for some of this stuff my red-headed ass could use it:)

  • id does more than that (Score:5, Interesting)

    by an_mo ( 175299 ) on Thursday September 05, 2002 @04:46PM (#4202464) Journal
    Actually, it has been shown that the drug has unwanted side effects, such increased libido and spontaneous erections in males. Now it's being studied as a viagra-substitute, the problem is to separate this from the tanning effect. An alternative is to market it as the "barbie-pill": tan & sex; add a sprinkle of coke and you have it all.

    More info at melanotan.org [melanotan.org].
    • not only that, but it also has properties such as appetite suppression and acne fighting...no lie...this would be a very wonderful drug.

    • Dagnabbit, I was just about to mention this, and somebody's beaten me to it.. :-)

      The drug in question is, as I recall, "Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone", which evidently is showing in trials that it improves libido for both men and women. It seemingly acts in the brain rather than the genitals (and as any marriage/sex councelor should tell you, the brain is the most important sex organ after all) and so works in a completely different way from viagra and such.

      Wonder how hard it is to get hold of stock in this company....whether it's OFFICIALLY released for anything other than a tanning-aid, you just KNOW that the, ahem, "off-label" uses of it will make it awfully popular....

      (I find it hilarious to see increased libido listed as an unwanted side-effect... :-) )

    • Increased libido and spontaneous erections?!? Wow, I really don't have a reason to go to the beach anymore!
    • Geez.. more spontaneous erections and libido?? Just what I didn't need. It's like being 15 years old again ;) Now if it would enlarge breasts too, we could call it the XXX pill. HSHS
  • Well i guess we have a few years before it comes out, but maybe ill finally have a tan! i spend way too much time working, coding, and learning to lay in the sun. now that i think about it, ill probobly have some type of excuse for not using the tan-pill as well.. cheers
  • Maybe we can slip some of these to Michael Jackson, I'm sure his family will love us for restoring him his blackness!
  • This article reminds me of I nonsense story I told one of my roommates.

    I was preparing to go on holiday to South Africa (spending my flying quotum for approx. 10 years) and needed to get some shots.
    During the daily washing up, my roommate asked me which shots I had had to take. I told him, the regular shots, but since he likes fooling people around, I thought I'd get back at him for some of his pranks, and I told him I'd also taken an experimental shot which was supposed to increase my melatonin level in the next week, so I'd already have a tan when I'd go to South Africa. The point of the shot was that the tan would protect me from the sun instead of sun tan lotion. Since it was an experimental shot I'd volenteered to at the docter's, I was supposed to take a picture of myself twice a day, making sure the lightning was always equal. Also during my holiday I should measure my light exposure and continue taking pictures.

    I was really surprised by the fact he totally believed my story! I thought it was completely transparent bullshit. In the next week he kept informing about the progess, and months later when I told him he'd been fooled he was really flabergasted. But now, three years later, the same idea's on slashdot....

    So why did I needed to get back at this guy?

    Every morning he woke up before everybody else in the house. Since nobody was in the kitchen while he was there, he started drawing a crack from the ceiling of our new house, adding only the slightest bit every day. We were quite worried about the solidity of our house, but couldn't properly examine the crack since it was so high up. The need to go up to the crack, since it was so obvious. It took months before we realised the crack was drawn with a pencil!
    • eeek! The enemy is inside the gates. (Well, he would be if we had gates...) Careful, if you are not THE JackV, you might have copyright issues over your name.

      Happy Friday.
      [When is a firewall not a firewall? When it's full of Gates. Windows = Gated Communites?]
  • My CRT tan is coming along just fine without any help. People need to stick to doing things the natural way.
  • one word... Bikinis
  • I think women look MUCH better pale-skinned anyday (Carrie Ann Moss, Liv Tyler, my wife) ;)

  • Old news... and more details (Score:3, Informative)

    by gene_tailor ( 601527 ) on Friday September 06, 2002 @04:52AM (#4205276) Journal
    This story had some media coverage about 5 years ago... For example, here's a Boston Globe bit with some useful details:
    http://search.boston.com/globe/search/st ories/heal th/how_and_why/101397.htm
    A more recent article which is much better than the lame ABC story is on Wired:
    http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/m elanotan .html
  • The real trick would be a pill that lets you change your skin to a more outlandish color than "sorta brownish." Certain subcultures woul just eat this up. I can imagine a warehouse full of ravers with purple, green, fluorescent, etc. skin.

  • At last: Tannin secretion pills.

    Nr. 37 on the You know you've been reading too much by Larry Niven when... [optushome.com.au] list is now obsolete.

  • How about people who don't process sunlight well and freckle instead of tan? Does the pill give an even tan or really big spots? ("look! I'm now a dalmation!")
  • It's a pill, not an implant.

    Side effects include increased sex drive, appetite suppressant, it's an anti-inflamitory, and it may fight acne (not sure about that one).

    It would be the perfect barbie pill if only it madeyou blond too. Tan, thin, horny, no pain, and clear complexion.

    -
  • Now I never have to leave my cubicle!

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