Scientists Produce Fearless Mice

Dotnaught writes "According to New Scientist, a Rutgers University geneticist has found that turning off a specific gene for the protein stathmin makes mice fearless. The story speculates that this research might improve treatment for phobias. It does not mention obvious military applications for the discovery. As noted in this Naval Officer's guide for managing fatigue, the use of amphetamines to stay alert, followed by sedatives to sleep, has a long tradition. Genetic treatments may offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals."

Comments

Good old PCP

[ReformedExCon]

Whatever happened to the good old days of pumping soldiers full of angel dust to rid them of fear?

The non-military uses for such a treatment are pretty far-reaching. Would it be able to cure people that suffer anxiety attacks? Could children with night terrors be cured?

If the rats don't feel fear, do they also lose understanding of danger? That would be a pretty bad mutation.

Re:Good old PCP

[general_re]

If the rats don't feel fear, do they also lose understanding of danger? That would be a pretty bad mutation.

My first thought also. There are some situations where fear is an entirely appropriate response - lose it, and unwarranted risks may start to become a problem.

Military applications make me shiver...

[stirz]

Giving Methamphetamines to soldies to "stay alert" and to "strengthen confidence" has -sadly enough- a long tradition. As Wikipedia tells us even the Nazis spreaded the drug among their Wehrmacht. What's the point of a government saying "Stay away from drugs!" on the one hand and willingly giving it to soldiers on the other?

Seems alright, I quit military service a long time ago...

Regards

Stirz

Re:Military applications make me shiver...

[skinfitz]

How is this different to a Government saying "Don't kill people!" then putting guns and high explosives into the hands of soldiers?

The only logic here is 'do what we say and don't question anything.'

Re:Military applications make me shiver...

[Mjlner]

"As Wikipedia tells us even the Nazis spreaded the drug among their Wehrmacht."

What do you mean, "even the Nazis"? A totalitarian government, emphasizing the military and denial of the individual, would be almost expected to do this. What is more scary, is that democracies, which we expect to respect and defend the rights of the individual, even to the point of restricting what the police and military can do, are chemically altering the bodies and minds of their soldiers.

Are these mice really fearless...

[Mjlner]

...or just plain stupid?

since when does being alert = fearless?

[artifex2004]

The two certainly do not equate.

fear is a good thing

[circletimessquare]

people nowadays like to talk about fear in ideological and propagandistic terms, but fear keeps you alive. it keeps you from wandering into traffic or picking fights with random people. if this were ever applied to humans, you wouldn't have superhuman heroic fighters for the military, you'd have guys shooting themselves with their own guns and jumping off roofs... why not, when you're not afraid of anything, including death

Re:fear is a good thing

[UserGoogol]

I don't think so. Fear is not the source of all human behavior. Without fear, people could still say, "Well... I could jump off the roof, but then I'd probably break a few bones, and that would hurt, and I don't like being hurt." (After all, you are arguing right now that there is something inherently bad about being shot in the head, surely a fearless person might be able to see your argument.)

Fear is merely a mental shortcut. Instead of rationally arguing that doing something will lead to an unadvantageous situation, our brains merely automatically develop fears of the situation and we avoid it quasi-instinctually.

That said, if you were to completely remove fear without changing anything else, I do not doubt that shit would happen. Human beings are nowhere near as smart as they could be, and are probably not capable of thinking things out clearly enough. As it stands, we probably need mental crutches like fear until we are able to augment our intelligence.

But still, we should not imply that fear and desire are the only things capable of driving people. Fear is distinct from pain, desire is distinct from happiness.

Re:Military applications ?

[varjag]

What you want is soldiers that are more afraid of their commanding officers than the enemy; that way they'll follow orders.

It is a bit of oversimplification. Soldiers can be motivated by things other than fear: the sense of friendship, pride, the feeling of responsibility and (misguided or not) patriotism. History is full with exapmles of people knowingly and willingly sacrificing their life for good of others, ranging from Spartans to Soviet atheists (neither of those could even hope for a decent afterlife: the void of Hades ain't much better than simple non-existance). I believe that in Iraq fights of today you could find such instances at both sides involved, too.

That said, your general argument remains valid. Humans for high command are mostly numbers, and are operated from statistical point of view. They would hate to rely solely for underlings' loyalty.