A new study headed by experimental psychologist Doctor Sylvia Terbeck, from Oxford University has discovered that a common heart disease drug, Propanolol, has a side effect that surprisingly takes away racist attitudes in individuals. “Our results offer new evidence about the processes in the brain that shape implicit racial bias. Implicit racial bias can occur even in people with a sincere belief in equality,” says Terbeck to the Australian Associated Press.

Tests on volunteers who took the beta-blocker propranolol showed they were less racially biased than those who took a placebo, the Independent reported. Propranolol acts on nerve circuits that govern automatic functions such as heart rate, as well as those that govern the part of the brain involved in fear and emotional responses. For that reason, it is also used to treat anxiety and panic.

For more on this astounding discovery, visit www.globalpost.com.