Deadly delusions

What do a mom who abandoned her 1-year-old daughter outside an office building, a naked gunman who climbed to a rooftop yelling that someone was trying to kill him, and a man who impaled himself on a security fence while running from imaginary murderers all have in common? They were all high on flakka, a synthetic stimulant also known as gravel, that is sweeping through South Florida and a handful of other states.

The chemical, alpha pyrrolidinovalerophenone, or alpha-PVP, is fairly new to the drug scene, and the Drug Enforcement Administration did not ban it until 2014. Its popularity is skyrocketing due, in part, to its affordability at only $5 a pop. In 2010 only 699 samples of seized drugs tested positive for flakka. By 2013 that number had soared to 16,500, according to crime lab reports.

Flakka stimulates the release of dopamine and norepinephrine, both brain chemicals that produce feelings of pleasure and excitement. But it also increases adrenaline, which produces superhuman strength, rage, and violent delusions. “Just a little bit more will trigger very severe adverse effects,” epidemiologist James Hall told LiveScience.

Flakka users may experience excited delirium syndrome, a condition that causes delusions, violent behavior, and increased body temperature. Users’ internal body temperatures frequently reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit, prompting them to rip their clothes off. Even mild overdoses can be fatal.

Airborne assault

It has long been thought that noroviruses, that nasty group of viruses responsible for over 50 percent of gastroenteritis cases, could only spread by direct contact. But researchers at Laval University in Quebec discovered that noroviruses can spread through air up to several meters from an infected person.

The research team conducted the study at eight hospitals and long-term care facilities affected by outbreaks of gastroenteritis, gut infections that once were commonly called “stomach flu.” They detected noroviruses in the air at six facilities. The viruses were found in 54 percent of the rooms housing patients with gastroenteritis, 38 percent of the hallways leading to their rooms, and 50 percent of the nursing stations. Virus concentrations ranged from 13 to 2,350 particles per cubic meter of air. A dose of 20 norovirus particles is considered enough to cause illness.

The researchers believe the reason gastroenteritis outbreaks are so hard to contain is because hospitals have not understood the possibility of airborne transmission and are only geared to limit direct contact. “Use of mobile air filtration units or the wearing of respiratory protection around patients with gastroenteritis are measures worth testing,” said Caroline Duchaine, the study’s lead researcher. —J.B.

A view on cue

Tired of staring out the office window at a brick wall or concrete parking lot? An office with a view may soon be available even in buildings that face such drab scenes.

Researchers at Pusan National University in South Korea have developed transparent light shutters for windows that act like an LCD screen and allow users to switch their dreary view to an inviting vista, or back again, in less than a millisecond.

The new, energy-efficient technology uses liquid crystals to scatter and absorb light coming through the window. The mechanism allows light to pass through when the normal transparent window state is used, making the use of power necessary only when the opaque scenery mode is employed.

Next, the researchers plan to develop a light shutter that only consumes power when switching between modes. —J.B.