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Standard Issue Mind Control DARPA wants ultrasound-enhanced helmets that allow soldiers to stimulate certain regions of their brains.

DARPA has been trying to crawl inside the minds of soldiers for a while now, but a new ultrasound technology could let them get deeper inside than ever. Working under a DARPA grant, a researcher at Arizona State is developing transcranial pulsed ultrasound technology that could be implanted in troops’ battle helmets, allowing soldiers to manipulate brain functions to boost alertness, relieve stress, or even reduce the effects of traumatic brain injury.

Manipulating the brain to enhance warfighting capabilities and maintain mental acuity on the battlefield has long been a topic of interest for DARPA and various military research labs, but the technology to do so remains limited. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), for instance, requires surgically implanted electrodes to stimulate neural tissues, while less-invasive methods like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) possess limited reach and low spatial resolution.

But Dr. William J. Tyler, an assistant professor of life sciences at ASU, writes on the DoD’s “Armed With Science” blog: “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.”

Tyler’s technology, packaged in a warfighter’s helmet, would allow soldiers to flip a switch to stimulate different regions of their brains, helping them relieve battle stress when it’s time to get some rest, or to boost alertness during long periods without sleep. Grunts could even relieve pain from injuries or wounds without resorting to pharmaceutical drugs. More importantly, in the periods after brain trauma ultrasound technology could reduce swelling and metabolic damage that is often the root cause of lasting brain damage.

[Armed With Science via Danger Room]

Colonies of embryonic stem cells via University of Wisconsin-Madison

The push-pull between the Obama administration and U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth over the government’s funding of embryonic stem cell research has swung back the other way, at least temporarily lifting the temporary injunction blocking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research that was issued last month.

The lifting of the funding is a victory of sorts for those in the scientific community who support President Obama’s policy, which allows federal funding of embryonic stem cell research on stem cell lines outside of the original 21 allowed under his predecessor’s policy. But the issue is far from settled, and research that has already been suspended by the National Institutes of Health is likely to remain on hold until a final decision is made by the Court of Appeals.

That could take awhile. The three-judge panel was careful to note that their lifting of the funding ban is in no way an endorsement of the administration’s position on the matter but rather a means to provide them with more time to consider all the issues. So while the federal money spigot can once again flow, many projects on hold will likely remain that way.

Moreover, the uncertainty that the controversy introduces into the scientific community may make it harder for some projects to drum up private funding, as backers may be apprehensive to sink cash into research that may end up collapsing under a court ruling anyhow.

In the meantime, opponents of the funding have until September 14th to hand in their response to the appeals court, while the government - representing the NIH - has until the September 20th. Neither the Department of Justice nor the NIH chose to comment on the injunction today.

For more, last week’s New Yorker has a nice piece on the NIH and the stem cell debate.

[WaPo, NYT]

What the Government Doesn’t Want You to Know

Death-ray bombs, giant flamethrowers, unclassified airfields, and more of history’s deepest military secrets

It’s hard to look at military spending without wondering what’s behind the scenes.. For instance, in this month’s issue of Popular Science, we investigate what exactly the Pentagon is getting for the billion it has dropped on classified assassination weapons.

A peek in our archives revealed that Popular Science has a long history of investigating top-secret operations. We didn’t hesitate to publish an expose on “loony gas” warfare in 1960, nor did we refrain from sending one of our reporters into Groom Lake’s unofficial airfield.

Click to launch the photo gallery

One of our earliest mentions of the military’s “black budget” occurred in March of 1993, when civilians claimed to catch glimpses of the Air Force’s hypothetical, hypersonic Aurora aircraft. Although we can only guess at the details of aircraft experimentation, we do know that there’s a lot of money being funneled away in the name of fighting terrorists.

While the Age of Terrorism is a fairly recent concept, government secrets go back as long as we can remember. Everyone loves a good speculative theory, and while time has rendered some secrets, like Nazi Germany’s rocket weaponry, common knowledge, other operations remain shrouded in code words and confidential reports.

Sound intriguing? There’s a lot more where that came from. Launch the gallery and join us as we investigate history’s most enigmatic military tech.