You know, there are times when even we get a little tempted to don the ol' tinfoil hat. Weirdly enough, those times usually have something to do with DARPA, as the agency is now researching technology that will affect soldiers' brains to boost their abilities.
Now, DARPA won't be able to give soldiers orders and turn them into mindless drones — well, at least, that's not what the agency claims the research is for. Instead, a helmet using what's called "transcranial pulsed ultrasound" could help relieve stress on a trooper during combat, boost his awareness and even make him feel his injuries less.
The research is in itself a breakthrough of sorts as the kind of mind altering it's looking to do is usually carried out with direct stimulation to the brain using implants and the like. The bulk of the transcranial pulsed ultrasound testing is being carried out at Arizona State University, where Dr. William Tyler, an assistant professor of life sciences, had this to say:
"To overcome the above limitations, my laboratory has engineered a novel technology which implements transcranial pulsed ultrasound to remotely and directly stimulate brain circuits without requiring surgery. Further, we have shown this ultrasonic neuromodulation approach confers a spatial resolution approximately five times greater than TMS and can exert its effects upon subcortical brain circuits deep within the brain."
Yep. Doesn't sound evil at all. No sir! LINK
Via Pop Sci
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