Scientists Turn Living Rats Into Remote-controlled Robots (Are there any future possible applications of this feat in our everyday lives?)

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I know you will have been surprised by the title of this article and may have been wondering inwardly... 'how true is this?'. How could someone control a living creature through a computer keyboard? This is crazy, isn't it?

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A typical robotrat on its full regalia

Well, as crazy as it seems, it is 100% true. New advances in science allow scientists to surgically manipulate some specific parts in the rats' brain and thereafter be able to control them by means of an electronic remote, making them to go right, left, forwards and backwards, and even jump up and climb trees. As true as this is, the rats cannot be referred to as robots because they have to be trained to carry out the commands.

The procedure was first developed by researchers at the State University of New York, New York City, led by Sanjiv Talwar, Ph.D. and John K. Chapin, Ph.D., and involved the use of three special brain electrodes which are implanted in the appropriate areas of the rats' brain to trigger specific reactions when stimulated; a development that would cause the rats to react in accordance with the stimuli.

The researchers implanted one of the electrodes into the medial forebrain bundle — (MFB), the part of the brain responsible for sensing reward. They placed the other two in parts of the somatosensory cortical area that receive stimulation from the left and right whiskers. Finally, a radio receiver tucked inside a rat-sized backpack was plugged into an interface in the rat’s skull.

The rats were trained to learn that they would be rewarded with continuous zaps to the MFB when they moved forwards, or when they turned according to an appropriate stimulation of the left or right whisker. Source.

Source

skeletal representation of how a Remote-controlled rat is wired

Having been trained, the rats were found to move in conformity with appropriate commands of a computer keyboard, and thus were manipulated to do things it would ordinary not do such as moving close to where people are in the broad daylight, climbing trees, navigating around the piles and rubble of a collapsed building, among other things.

The findings of this research which was funded by the US military's research arm known as DARPA was first published in Journal Nature Reports — requires subscription

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Possible Future Applications

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There is no doubt that such a feat in which rodents were remotely controlled by means of a computer key commands would have applications in our everyday lives — mainly in the areas of fight against terrorism, search and rescue operations, and enabling physically paralyzed patients to move parts of their body. Of course, the sad event of 9/11 was one of the major factors that drove US military's research agency, DARPA to sponsor the study.

The study authors believe that the work has the capacity to assist in search and rescue operations to identify and recover victims trapped in the rubbles of collapsed buildings as well as assisting the military to locate landmines and defuse them.

Speaking on the possible applications of the research work, Dr Chapin, who is research partner to Dr Talwar has this to say; I quote...

'The rat has rather sophisticated navigational skills. It makes sense to make good use of the animal's abilities.'

'A search-and-rescue dog costs $60,000 dollars a year to maintain, and you cannot use them in very tight spaces...nor could you use a dog to discover land mines, since the weight of the animal would detonate the explosive. A rat, however, being small and light, could sit on the mine without exploding it, making it possible to identify its location and defuse and dispose it off safely.' Source

The rats can also be mounted with cameras and used for military surveillance and other routine intelligence information gatherings. There are also concerns that these breakthrough can be abused as it is possible for enemies to use such a technological means to execute their inordinate assassination ambitions.

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Conclusion

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The ability of scientists to go as far as creating 'roborats' and being able to manipulate them to play according to computer commands, is another area of science breakthroughs which its advantages far outweighs its disadvantages. Governments in places where Islamic terrorism is a daily phenomenon should consider employing the services of these experts to effectively bring terrorism to negligible occurrence. To this ends, the robotrats should be equipped with Cameras and bombs where necessary. This would help the military to locate the terrorists and flush them out from their hideouts.

Thanks for reading

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References for further reading

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Ref1, Ref2, Ref3, Ref4 — Requires subscription for complete access, Ref5

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