Scientists recently have sucessfully conducted experiments on rats in which they were able to block the addictive properties of Morphine by genetically changing the neuron receptors in the brain.  The scientists conducting the experiments are hopeful that a drug may be developed which will produce the same results. 

The tested mice were genetically altered to handle morphine in a more regulated manner, limiting the amount of endorphins released when the neurons came into contact with the drug.  The scientists think that if they can limit the flow of endorphins with morphine use, but let it still retain it's pain-killer properties, then they can seriously decrease the addictive properties of the drug.  

Yesterday, October 5th, the Detroit Science Center opened an exhibit called "LIVE outside the bottle." The exhibit was started to raise awareness and educate the public about the disease of Alcoholism. The creaters were concerned that the public was not educated enough about this deadly disease. The campaign is being sponsored by two companies. The first, Cephalon, Inc., is a biopharmeceutical company located in Frazer, PA. The second, Alkermes, Inc., is a biotech company from Cambridge, MA. Both companies have a strong desire to educate the public about the symptoms and treatment of Alcoholism.

From the Live Outside the Bottle Website:

"Alcoholism is one of our country’s most misunderstood and destructive medical conditions. Perhaps most misunderstood is the belief that alcoholism is caused by a failure of will–and that it can be overcome by willpower alone. In fact, alcoholism is a disease, and research shows that medical treatment can save lives and help restore families."

Hi! Welcome to ODAT Online. Over the coming days, weeks, and months, we will be adding new content and features to the site.

For now, the Blog List is finished, so if you have a blog that has to do with staying clean and sober, or related to recovery in general, feel free to add your site to the listing.

Our Sobriety Counter is open as well. All you have to do is enter your sobriety date and you will be shown exactly how long you have been sober, and given HTML code to put a counter of your sober/clean time on your webpage, blog, or myspace. For example, here's a counter made from the day this post was made:

One Day at a Time

Also, the ODAT Recovery Forums are open as well, so please sign up and introduce yourself.