英国团队将研发毫无副作用的人工合成酒精

想喝酒又害怕宿醉的痛苦？好消息是，英国一家公司正在研发没有副作用的人工合成酒精，未来的某一天，也许你将能毫无顾虑地享受“喝酒”的快感。

London-based GABA Labs is working on a type of synthetic alcohol called ‘Alcarelle’ which reportedly provides the relaxing effects of alcohol without hangovers, balance deficiencies or any of its other negative side effects.

总部在伦敦的GABA实验室正在研发一种名为Alcarelle的人工合成酒精，据称这种物质可以像酒精一样让人感到放松而又不会产生宿醉、头晕或其他酒精引起的不良副作用。

Gamma-aminobutyric acid, aka GABA, is a neurotransmitter that blocks certain signals in the brain, thus producing a calming effect. When alcohol reaches the brain, it binds to GABA receptors and produces the same effects, relaxing and calming people down. The problem with alcohol is that it also has other negative side effects, like hangover, movement difficulties, speaking and thinking problems, etc. GABA Labs is currently working on a type of synthetic alcohol called Alcarelle that is supposed to provide all the positive effects of alcohol consumption, but none of the bad ones.

GABA全称是伽玛氨基丁酸，它是一种能够拦截大脑特定信号从而产生镇定效果的神经传递素。当酒精到达大脑时，就会和氨基丁酸受体结合并产生让人放松镇定的效果。问题是酒精会带来其他不良副作用，比如宿醉、行动困难、言语和思考混乱等。GABA实验室目前正在研发一种名为Alcarelle的人工合成酒精，据称能够提供饮酒的所有快感，同时又没有任何不良的副作用。

"It feels like what a glass of wine feels like,” GABA Labs founder Dr. David Nutt told The Wall Street Journal. “It feels relaxing. It makes you a bit more chatty, a bit more socially engaged with people.”

GABA实验室的创始人大卫·纳特博士告诉《华尔街日报》：“饮用这种人工合成酒精的感觉就和喝真正的酒一样。它会让你感到放松，让你有点爱说话，更喜欢和人交际。”

Apparently, Alcarelle is a tasteless substance that can be added to other drinks – alcoholic or non-alcoholic – to boost their tipsiness potential without the negative side effects. If people could get their ‘fix’ from synthetic alcohol without suffering damage to their liver, heart, brain, etc., that could potentially save millions of lives.

显然，Alcarelle是一种添加到其他酒精或非酒精饮料中的没有味道的物质，能够让人产生微醺的感觉却又不会产生不良副作用。如果人们能够从这种人工合成酒精中得到满足，他们的肝脏、心脏、大脑等器官都不会受到损害，那么这种人工合成酒精将可能挽救数百万条生命。

Dr. David Nutt revealed that he and his partners at GABA Labs hope to launch Alcarelle by 2026. The product has been in development for quite some time now, but the regulatory approval process has been very slow.

大卫·纳特博士透露，他和GABA实验室的伙伴们希望能在2026年前推出人工合成酒精Alcarelle。这一产品已经研发了相当长的一段时间，但是监管审批流程走得很慢。

One potential stumbling block for Alcarelle is the fact that it’s not a natural product, unlike alcohol, which has been produced and consumed for millennia. However, the founders of GAB Labs claim that just because something is natural, doesn’t automatically make it good for you. Plus, they are betting that, for many, enjoying the positive effects of alcohol without the hangover will be ‘a pretty powerful reason to partake of it even if it’s not natural’.

Alcarelle上市的一个潜在障碍是它不是天然产品，而天然的酒精饮料已经被生产和饮用了上千年。不过，GABA实验室的创始人表示，天然的东西也不一定对身体有好处。而且他们很肯定会有很多人爱上这种既能享受酒精快感又不会宿醉的饮料，“光是这一条强有力的理由就足以让人去饮用它，即使它不是天然的”。