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Comment by jlgreco | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if it would be possible to, for a price, purposely induce this this in alcoholics who are anticipating a prolonged prison sentence.

Probably the most unethical idea I've had all week...

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Conversely, suppose this condition is more common than generally appreciated (because it does seem a lot simpler to assume someone is an alcoholic who's being dishonest about the incidence/frequency of their drinking). Could it be that a certain proportion of crime or irresponsible behavior is actually the product of involuntary drunkenness?

On a related note, for a few years now I've been trying to think of a way to organize a clinical survey of Toxoplama Gondii (a parasite transmissible from cats to humans that results in inxreased risk-taking behavior) in prison inmates. While it's true that a lot of criminals are in fact Bad People, I think we have drastically underestimated the impact on criminality of environmental factors like poor diet, parasites and so on.

TL;DR a lot of crime may turn out to be a public health problem.

My guess is an alcoholic person would be less susceptible since they drink more alcohol than the average person, alcohol being the waste product of yeast would make for a bad environment.

In a person who doesn't drink much the stomach environment would be better since I am picturing the waste going downward towards the gut leaving the yeast to live in peace.

The concentrations of alcohol in beer or wine don't kill yeast, though. The yeast go into a sort of hibernation phase and can be roused with the return of a more favorable environment. With much beer and wine making, the alcohol doesn't even reach that level; the yeast simply eat everything they're capable of digesting and then hibernate.

A lot of crime is a public health problem. From environmental lead to undermedicated mental illness. Extending that to parasites and/or gut fauna isn't a stretch.

On a similar note, I wonder how this sort of ailment could effect an alcoholic trying to kick the habit. I would think that the victim would figure out something is wrong, but it is hard to say if this could be mistaken by the victim as some sort of strange withdrawal.

Here's one even more unethical: a prison gang taking these alcoholics as slaves, and milking them, so to speak, to produce alcohol for resale in the prison blackmarket.

Wow, I... I don't think I can beat that.

Some prisoners already consume the vomit of other inmates who throw up after taking drugs.

Ain't life grand?

Taken further, if this can be induce and cured there's a great product to be had. Might end up with super-yeast though.

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