South Korea invented the first remote mind control
technique in history.
In South Korea, a remote, "long-range," and "large-volume" mind control gadget was unveiled, with the intention of using the technology for "non-invasive" medical treatments.
The device, which uses magnetic fields to control the brain remotely, was created by researchers at Korea's Institute for Basic Science (IBS). The technology was tested by creating "maternal" tendencies in their female test subjects, mice.
In a further experiment, scientists subjected a group of lab mice to magnetic fields intended to suppress appetite, which resulted in a 10-percentage drop of body weight, or roughly 4.3 grams.
"This is the first technology in the world to control specific brain regions freely using magnetic fields," said the chemistry and nanomedicine professor leading the new initiative.
In South Korea, a remote mind control gadget was unveiled, with the intention of using the technology to "non-invasive" medical operations. In one experiment, the application of magnetic fields intended to suppress appetite caused lab mice to lose 10% of their body weight (4.3 grams).
"We anticipate its broad application in brain function research, advanced artificial neural network applications, two-way brain-computer interface technologies, and novel therapeutic approaches for neurological illnesses," stated Dr. Cheon.
However, medical professionals pointed out that magnetic fields have been successfully applied in medical imaging for decades, notwithstanding the science fantasy aspect of remote mind control.
In an opinion piece published alongside the recent study published in Nature Nanotechnology, Dr. Felix Leroy, a senior scientist from Spain's Instituto de Neurociencias, stated, "The concept of using magnetic fields to manipulate biological systems is now well established."
He pointed out that "it has been applied in various fields," including "transcranial magnetic stimulation," "magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], and magnetic hyperthermia for cancer treatment."
The genetic manufacturing of specific nanomaterials, whose function within brain neurons could be adjusted from a distance via carefully chosen magnetic fields, was the originality brought by the IBS team from South Korea.
Dr. Cheon and his colleagues used the method, officially known as magneto-mechanical genetics (MMG), to steer the development of their brain-modulating device.
The researchers named their creation Nano-MIND, or "Nano-Magnetogenetic Interface for NeuroDynamics," in their most recent paper, which was published in the July issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
The head of the IBS Center for Nanomedicine in South Korea, Dr. Cheon Jinwoo, stated that he anticipates the new hardware being utilized for a number of critically required healthcare applications. Above is a schematic of the magnetic apparatus used for remote-controlling the lab mice in the study.
In the maze-like course where the group tested the maternal instincts of the female lab rats, magnetic stimulation of some of the rats made them find and gather their lost rat 'pups' faster. The female rats that were aroused started moving toward the pups 16 seconds quicker on average.
The researchers used a gene-replacement method known to scientists as Cre-Lox recombination to create custom mice for their studies.
The neurons, or nervous system cells, in these genetically altered lab mice produced more magnetically sensitive "ion channels," which function as gates and let specific chemicals and atoms in at specific times and at specific rates.
The MMG stimulation of certain female lab rats prompted them to find and gather their lost rat 'pups' in a maze-like course more swiftly in the group's test of maternal instincts.
Using an average of 16 seconds less time, the female rats stimulated by Nano-MIND approached the pups and 'easily collected all three pups in all the trials,' the researchers reported.
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Additionally, the scientists tested how these genetically altered animals would respond to Nano-MIND magnetic impulses encouraging them to eat more or less over the course of two weeks in mice in the control and experimental groups.
It turned out that the technology may make the mice consume too much or too little.
The mice's body weight grew by about 7.5 grams on average in the trial where the MMG signal encouraged them to eat, or about 18% of their starting weight.
Although the mice lost less (10% of their body weight, or roughly 4.3 grams), the fasting magnetic impulse did not cause the mice to slow down or become less mobile.
They stated, "Reduced feeding did not affect locomotion," suggesting that the effect was limited to appetite and did not impair the mice's ability to move around.
The technology's most immediate application, according to Dr. Cheon and his colleagues, will be in assisting medical researchers in determining which areas of the brain and the rest of the nervous system are in charge of particular moods and other behaviors.
However, Dr. Leroy of Spain issued a warning against moving too quickly toward human testing in his opinion piece regarding the Nano-MIND breakthrough and its gene-replacement component.
Dr. Leroy recommended more research in order to evaluate any possible cumulative consequences, such as neuroadaptation or neurotoxicity.
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