Remote Controlled Rats

sclatter writes: "They aren't precisely robot rats, but these little rodents can be cued to perform different actions through electrodes implanted in their brains. Could be a boon for search and rescue in collapsed buildings!" As one skeptic in the article says, though, "Without the gee-whizery, without the remote-control and so on, that this kind of thing was possible has been obvious for decades."

Comments

Roaches

[Coward, Anonymous]

This was also done with cockroaches.

Re:Barbaric!

[Daniel Dvorkin]

I used to keep pet rats. The reason I stopped was because they have very short lifespans; I got sick of getting attached to cute, smart, affectionate little balls of fuzz and having them die within a couple of years. They each have their own personalities and their own feelings just as much as dogs or cats do. And gram for gram, they're probably smarter than any other animal on the planet. Also, they're extremely clean.

Are wild rats vicious? Of course they are, but so are wild dogs and wild cats. Raised by loving owners, they're wonderful creatures. Now, whether you think more traditional domestic animals have any rights or not is a separate issue ...