Looks like they may have found a tablet that can cure… racism

It looks as though a common heart disease drug might have a bit of an unusual said-effect: the ability to tackle racism.

A new study from Oxford University suggests that the beta-blocker drug propranolol, which is used to treat chest pains and to lower heart rates, could have somewhat of an impact on how people feel subconsciously when it comes to racism. There are a few footballers that should be listing to this…

Volunteers who were given the drug propranolol scored lower on a standard psychological test of "implicit" racist attitudes and they appeared to be less racially prejudiced at a subconscious level compared to another group who were treated with a placebo pill, according to the Irish Independent. Basically, the participants didn’t even know they were being ‘less racist’.

Two small groups of 18 participants took part in the study. The volunteers were asked to undertake a "racial Implicit Association Test" (IAT) one to two hours after taking the beta blocking drug propranolol or the placebo.

The test saw the volunteers categorise both positive and negative words along with pictures of both white and black individuals and the longer it took to complete the task the worse the individuals scored.

Over a third of the volunteers who were treated with propranolol were found to be biased towards being non-racist at a subconscious level. This was not seen in any member of the placebo group.

However, we won’t be forcing pills down anyone throats just yet, as the findings have been met with some scepticism. Dr Chris Chambers, from the University of Cardiff's School of Psychology said: "We don't know whether the drug influenced racial attitudes only or whether it altered implicit brain systems more generally.

"And we can't rule out the possibility that the effects were due to the drug incidentally reducing heart rate. So although interesting, in my view these preliminary results are a long way from suggesting that propranolol specifically influences racial attitudes."