Chili Peppers Might Be Painkillers

No, not the band.  They cause pain, especially their last three albums.  We’re talking about the special ingredient that makes Mexican food so, so delicious.  Those chili peppers might just be the source of an awesome new painkiller, according to the BBC.

It turns out that capsaicin, the substance that makes peppers so hot, and the chemicals that trigger pain in nerve receptors are very similar.  So if you figure out how to block capsaicin, you’ve figured out how to create a highly effective painkiller.  You also have a drug that lets you eat, say, a ghost chili raw and not scream.  Science that both alleviates human misery and lets you prank your friends (“see, guys, it’s all about telling yourself, mentally, that the ghost chili tastes like ice cream, not burning.”)  We love medical research.