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Remote-Controlled Flies
Rollie Hawk writes "This could be a huge development for the ultra-lazy (and ultra-stinky, for that matter). It seems that Yale scientists have managed to engineer a remote control system for flies. According to their study (recently featured in Cell), specific neurons can be stimulated by lasers to control basic functions in fruit flies such as jumping, walking, and flying.
The study, of course, was performed with wider ranging applications in mind than bringing new meaning to the saying, "Shew, fly!" The overall goal was to determine whether isolated-neuron stimulation could be used to control basic motor activities and even more complex behavior.
Everyone since the days of Mary Shelly has obviously known that there are connections between electrical current and muscle movement. What makes this study unique is that it does not use traditional electrodes, which lack the single-neuron specificity of lasers. Eventually, this could lead to mappings that will give humans knowledge and possibly control over not only complex movements but less-than desirable mental functions such as aggression and overeating."
another tool for the corporations to sell their goods and services.
- patron enters store
- patron gets stimulated by a flood of lazers within the store
- patron has the urge to purchase more than what he/she origionaly wanted
this sinister motive is nothing new either, corporations have dumped lots of money in research for these same reasons. I.e. certain fragrences in the air stimulate people to spend money, certain oxygen levels, etc. Ever notice how there is never a clock visable in a department store? The absence of knowing the time makes shoppers less in a hurry to leave.
This opens the door to the exciting world of nanotechnology. The number of applications could be limitless, one of which could be the development of tiny flying robots, millions working together to solve complex problems. Of course the military could see immediate benefits, creating swarms of synthetic "cameras", allowing our intelligence agencies access to unprecedented targets of interest. And the risks should be minimal, as these are purely man-made beings with no innate ability to reproduce, mutate, or turn on their creators. I for one cannot wait...sign me up!
Pretty soon science will give us the ability to reprogram specific areas of the human brain and not to much farther down the road you could potentially remap an entire human brain onto a clone "6th Day" style.
But why would you want to even stop there? Why not just create a new host for your consciousness in the form of reprogrammable replicating nanocells that are adverse to many of the inherent problems with cellular life and its fragile DNA?
Even better than that, with this new artificial host created by nanocells, your consciousness could instruct your nanocells to create new limbs or extend your special member to any desired length or girth with just a thought "Spawn" style. You could in effect become anything you wanted to, provided there are safeguards for not corrupting your own neural net accidentally.
Of course these prospects might sound cool now, but even the typical amoral geekified anti-god slashdotter has to wonder if there is such a thing as science going too far when you can reprogram and remote control other organisms (including humans) in such a way that you might as well be playing god yourself.
Can someone explain the concepts of sarcasm and irony to the idiot that modded the parent a troll.
This pretty much already happens without technology. Seeing as the technology involved requires trasngenic modification and further requires a uv light source that can reach the neurons in question, somewhat less of a problem for an essentially transparent fruit fly than it would be a human with a half inch of bone and a flak helmet in the way
You're entirely missing the point. The "brain lasers" won't work in humans. They're a research tool to help us figure out what the causes of things like aggression and obesity, so we can figure out ways to treat them more effectively.
Regarding aggression and obesity having causes in our personal lives, that's obviously partially true, but that doesn't mean we can't fix them clockwork orange-style. That day will hopefully come soon.
Why go through the trouble of making them surrender when you can just disable their voluntary muscle control?
Really I doubt that anyone would want soldiers to be able to be remote controlled. That introduces far to large of a possible security breach for it ever to get past the drawing stages, and it would definately reduce the number of people willing to volunteer for the military.
I guess you could force conscription, but conscripted soldiers really suck for today's warfare because of the higher education requirements for operating the most effective tactical gear.
If you just want a body that you can control, animals would be better than humans in most cases.
Reptiles in particular would be good at stealth work due to cold-bloodedness masking them from infrared goggles.
Not to mention the military applications of sharks with fricken laser beams on their heads.