Dispensary Corner 12 Mar 12
March 12, 2012
HISTORY in the making. A marketing stunt involving the Uffington White Horse in Oxfordshire by European bookmaker Paddy Power, has caused uproar, with British citizens saying it cheapens an important historical monument. The White Horse monument is around 3,000 years old, and is a 110m long prehistoric hill figure of a horse, made using deep trenches of white chalk. The bookies however added a jockey to the horse, using canvas and tent pegs, to promote the Cheltenham Festival.
THE cure for racism?
Researchers at Oxford
University have discovered an
unusual side-effect of the beta
blocker Propranolol, a lowering of
racist attitudes.
Propranolol blocks activation in
the peripheral autonomic
nervous system, and affects the
area of the brain which impacts
on emotional responses and fear.
The small scale study looked at
two groups of 18 volunteers, one
group which was given
propranolol, and the other group
which was given a placebo.
Participants were then given
test which gauged their levels of
subconscious racism.
Results of the test showed that
those taking propranolol were
less racially prejudiced on a
subconscious level.
Researchers did however find
that the drug had no effect on
volunteers stated attitudes to
races.
“Our results offer new
evidence about the processes in
the brain that shape implicit
racial bias,” said study head,
Dr Sylvia Terbeck, who added
that the findings may indicate
that racism is based on fear.
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