radio-control

[Doug Millison]

[...] 19. Rat Robot
Boston Globe: Scientists Produce 'Ratbot' - First Radio-Controlled Animal
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/122/nation/Scientists_produce_ratbot_first_rad
io_controlled_animal+.shtml
New Zealand Herald: New York Scientists Unveil Robo-rat
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/worldnews/../storydisplay.cfm?storyID=1843131&thesecti
on=news&thesubsection=world
Considerations for the 2002 Farm Bill
http://www.fb-net.org/FB/
Farm Bill Network Information on Use of USDA Conservation Programs
http://www.fb-net.org/
Intro to Jose Delgado
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/implant/
Dr. Jose M. R. Delgado
http://earthops.net/klaatu/delgado.html

Scientist have created the world's first radio-controlled animal by wiring a
computer chip directly into the brain of a living rat. The rats, each wired
with three hair-fine electrical probes to their brains, can be directed by
remote control by an operator typing commands on a computer up to 500 meters
(1,640 feet) away. Developed by Sanjiv Talwar at the State University of New
York and colleagues, this latest discovery in machine-based mind control not
only responds to a user's commands, but also transmits a sense of touch.
"The animal is not only doing something -- it's feeling something," said
Talwar, who also suggests the rats might be used as scouts for sniffing out
hidden land mines or for search and rescue teams that look for survivors
amid rubble. Unlike clunky machines, Talwar reveals that rats have the
ability to travel adeptly over rough terrain and, therefore, might be more
easily deployed in chaotic environments. Last year, the US Department of
Agriculture adopted regulations that might someday limit such experiments if
they're shown to cause unnecessary harm or stress to laboratory rats and
mice. However, an amendment to the Farm Bill, now pending in Congress, would
repeal these protections. Sen. Jess Helms (R-SC) inserted the amendment in
February that would scuttle any protections for laboratory rodents or birds.
Helms asserted the regulations would only lead to cumbersome paperwork.
"Isn't it far better for the mouse to be fed and watered in a clean
laboratory than to end up as a tiny bulge being digested inside an enormous
snake?"

Mind control research projects is nothing new to the scientific world. In
the 1960s, Yale physiologist Jose Delgado proved he could influence the mood
and actions of animals through remote control. In one famous demonstration,
Delgado stood, unarmed, in front of a charging bull. As the bull bore down
on him, Delgado flicked a switch on a small radio transmitter that sent
charges to electrodes implanted inside the bull's brain, causing the animal
to immediately brake to a halt and meekly walk away. Delgado also
experimented with monkeys and cats, and generated horror when he suggested
the technology could be used to limit obsessive and criminal behavior in
human societies. For recent press releases on the rat robot phenomenon,
viewers may access the first two links listed above.  The third link gives
information on the status of the 2002 Farm Bill, as well as other major
bills.  The fourth link provides information from the US Department of
Agriculture Farm Bill on use of USDA conservation programs. Finally, the
last two links provide information on Jose Delgado's research and practices.
[MG]

from:  The Scout Report -- May 3, 2002