FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller | Deep, Multi-Layer Oceans On Uranus And Neptune?

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Feb 17, 2025

Guest

Burkhardt Militzer

Guest

Sean Mackey

Sean Mackey, a Stanford pain management professor, discusses the FDA's groundbreaking approval of Journavx, a non-opioid painkiller that blocks nerve endings without addiction risks. He explains who would benefit and the drug's limitations. Burkhardt Militzer, a UC Berkeley planetary scientist, shares exciting insights about potential multi-layered oceans beneath Neptune and Uranus, suggesting they may explain the planets' strange magnetic fields. This intriguing merger of health and space exploration opens new avenues for scientific understanding.

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INSIGHT

Journavx's Mechanism

Journavx blocks sodium channels on sensory nerves to reduce pain signals.
It targets a specific channel (NAV 1.8) in peripheral nerves, unlike opioids which act on the central nervous system.

INSIGHT

Painkiller Comparison

Journavx targets peripheral nerves, while opioids work in the central nervous system.
Tylenol's mechanism isn't fully understood, but it acts centrally, and NSAIDs reduce inflammation that causes pain.

INSIGHT

Journavx's Effectiveness

Studies show Journavx has a mild, but statistically significant, effect compared to a placebo.
The drug's non-addictive nature and targeted approach make it promising for pain management.

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It’s the first FDA approval for a pain medication in 25 years. How does the drug work, and who is it for? Also, non-mixing layers of water and hydrocarbons thousands of miles deep could explain the icy planets’ strange magnetic fields.

The FDA Approves A New, Non-Opioid Painkiller

In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new pain medicine called Journavx (suzetrigine), made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. It’s the first time in 25 years the agency has given the green light to a new painkiller. Notably, it’s not an opioid and, according to the company, it’s not addictive. Unlike opioids, which act directly on the brain, Journavx instead blocks nerve endings across the body that transmit pain.

Host Ira Flatow is joined by Dr. Sean Mackey, a professor of anaesthesiology and pain medicine at Stanford University and chief of the Division of Stanford Pain Medicine, to discuss how the new drug works, who should take it, and what its limitations are.

Might Uranus And Neptune Have Deep, Multi-Layer Oceans?

We’ve got a pretty good idea about what’s beneath the surface of our nearest planetary neighbors, like Mars. But as you get farther out into the solar system, our knowledge becomes scarce. For instance, what’s inside the so-called ice giants, Neptune and Uranus?

Recent research based on computer simulations of fluids hints that the planets could contain vast multi-layered oceans, as much as thousands of miles deep. A layer of water that is on top of—but doesn’t mix with—a deeper layer of hydrocarbons could help explain strange magnetic fields observed during the Voyager mission.

Dr. Burkhardt Militzer, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at UC Berkeley, wrote about this idea in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He joins Host Ira Flatow to explain his theories.

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