Have you ever watched breaking Bad… with a chemist? Or with a neuroscientist? This is the amazing experience offered by the Instant Science association and the University of Nîmes, this Thursday at 7 p.m., at Spot, in Nîmes (Gard).
Zohra Benfodda, lecturer in chemistry, and Laurie Galvan, lecturer in neurosciences, will debunk, during a conference, the (mis)adventures of Walter White, a terminally ill professor, converted into baron of the methamphetamine. So, breaking Bad, is it realistic? Or is there enough to choke on, with this story of tinkered crystals in a van, when you are a real scientist?
Chemistry in a van, “it’s a bit complicated”
For Zohra Benfodda, an expert in medicinal chemistry, the series, in many respects, is “not that far from reality”. Especially the glassware, used by the teacher. But there are things that made him laugh, all the same. It is obvious that daring such advanced chemistry, in a motorhome, “it’s a bit complicated”, she notes. And then, anyway, “we don’t do chemistry in shorts!” smiles the Nîmes researcher. Not even in underwear. Because it is well dressed in a simple kangaroo brief that we discover the hero, at work, in the first episode of the cult series. “Obviously as a chemist, I have gloves, a lab coat… I keep telling my students to wear high socks, long pants… When you see it, only with boxer shorts and an apron, that obviously isn’t believable! »
As for Walter White’s meth recipe, there’s no point trying to recreate it at home. Because, as Zohra Benfodda reminds us, the creators of the cult series have applied themselves above all not to suggest a precise recipe, so as not to give the wrong ideas to the spectators. “The idea is precisely that someone who watches the series cannot do methamphetamine again, notes the researcher. And then, even if you are given the reagents, only an experienced chemist could do it. I don’t think Mr. Everybody can do it again. And then, remember that this is a reaction, which, if not controlled, can be dangerous. And illegal.
“We see the direct consequences” of this drug
Because methamphetamine, at the heart of the plot of breaking Bad, and its devastating consequences, are not beyond the imagination of Vince Gilligan. In real life, this synthetic drug, which was already circulating in some armies during the Second World War, is still wreaking havoc. ” In breaking Bad, methamphetamine is not romanticized, says Laurie Galvan, a specialist in neurodegenerative diseases. We see the direct consequences that this drug has on a human being. We see that the two heroes become rich, but that they destroy their lives, and that their condition worsens, progressively. These choices, which were made for the series, are close to reality. »
When a person uses this drug, “they are not themselves, for almost 12 hours. His brain is like hacked. She only feels a feeling of happiness and euphoria. She doesn’t feel anything else. The person no longer wants to eat, no longer wants anything. When the most addicted consumers come out of this trance, they have only one desire: to start again. “And that is rather well shown by the series,” notes the researcher. Especially when Jesse Pinkman, Walter White’s sidekick, consumes it with his friend. “He wakes up, she overdosed, he didn’t even notice it,” says Laurie Galvan. Because of the effects of methamphetamine, “we are blind to the world around us, blind to danger”.
The long-term risks are terrible. The body ends up being completely bypassed. “Until recently, we did not think that it was possible to get out of this drug, even with a detoxification treatment”, notes the researcher. Today, it takes more than a year, for the most addicted, to relearn the brain to function normally. “It is clearly one of the most dangerous drugs. Its consequences, and the addiction it engenders, are enormous. And that is quite clear, in breaking Bad.
“Breaking Bad” evening in the eyes of experts, this Thursday (7 p.m.) at Spot, in Nîmes. From 16 years old. Free entry, upon registration. Information here.