Science Current Events

    On March 23rd, 2012, in the Scripps Research Institute, the memories of a living creature were hijacked successfully for the first time in human history. In this experiment, neuroscientists engineered some mice to contain neuron triggers that they could control. They inserted a special memory receptor into the test subjects' nuerons that would be normally activated by sensory experiences. This technique was called a DREADD receptor, which was an appropriate name since the researchers were playing on the mice's fear. First, the scientists made the mice fear a particular cage by electrocuting them whenever they entered it. Then, when they they placed the mice in a different cage, they gave them a drug that triggered the same neurons that took affect when when the mice was scared. Thus, the mice formed a hybrid memory, sharing experiences from both cages.  In the future, the Scripps team wants to find out a way to make the mice believe completely that they're still in the cage, even though they're not.

     In my opinion, I think this experiment was groundbreaking experiment in the realm of science. Humans may soon be able to actually perform some functions similar to telepathy. Also, this could help lead to treatment of mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia, for example. However, there were a few things I found that were questionable in this experiment. One was the ethical usage of the mice. I didn't think the scientists needed to torture the mice and rely on their fear to get results. They could've used a different emotion, like maybe hunger as a possible alternative. Another controversial element in this project was the possible usage of hijacking memories. Soon, people would be able to manipulate minds for sinister purposes. Nonetheless, I feel that this experiment on the controlling of memories was a huge success and should help mankind progress forward in the realm of science. Here's the link to the full article on this topic: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/scientists-hijack-mouse-neurons-control-and-manipulate-memories.