[Rat]

A lot of you have probably already heard about this but:

Robo-rats

I feel sort of sorry for the poor rats...

[Coaster]

Land mine detection
Neural proteshisishs.. I guess, thats practical...
Still, poor rats.

I wish I had a button that triggered the pleasure section of my brain...

[Jezebel]

Although I can definitely see the benefits of such technology.... it just really makes me feel sad for the poor rats. I almost feel like its disgusting to want to control another living being in such a way. I don't know about other people, but one of my biggest fears is not having control over my own actions, or not being able to take care of myself. I can't even begin to imagine what that must feel like.

But, as I said originally - the benefits of that technology are enough that I feel like I shouldn't feel too bad about it. I know that if one of my family members was trapped under a house that had been hit by a tornado, a rat's ability to move on its own wouldn't mean so much to me anymore.

Still though... meh.... its almost frightening to think of the levels that could evolve too.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Jezebel ]

[[Shizo]]

Remote controlled rats! HA
I dont have anything against using rats for mine clearing or working in contaminated areas, as long as they burn them afterwards.

[pixelsoldier]

I feel kinda sorry for any creature that is dominated and used for science, but at the same time, I have to support the idea of it all.

I mean, rats populate in billions. We certainly don't have a shortage of them. And if this can lead to saving HUMAN life, I'm all for it.

[[Shizo]]

Humans populate in billions, i think a rat's life is more important than human's. Are you saying otherwise?

[Freddio]

one of my best friends, severed his spinal cord in a car accident last year. Such technology has positive effects for medical application. You say poor rats, I say poor Brad who is stuck in a wheel-chair.

[Impaler]

The article itself said that the rats weren't experiencing any pain, so I could hardly see any ethical qualms with this project, aside from being the rats subjected to experimentation without their express written consent. We've been controlling rats' movements with pellets for decades; a small shock is no different than the old carrot-tied-to-a-stick-on-a-rat's-back. Rather, this is an issue of being technophobic, springing from a misplaced sentimentality for animals that most veterinarians don't even share.

I could foresee interesting weapons coming out of this. Something, like, the rat is forced to carry some disease or parasite, like ebola, and is then piloted into a city and either killed, or literally has the shit shocked out of them. Can you imagine how hard it would be to kill a rat that could scamper into the sewers and come up several blocks away, untraceable? Now THAT'S a smart bomb.

Edit: Duh, me no good word make night at.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Impaler ]

[wayfinder]

i'm very afraid of the implications this has on controlling humans...

[Giant Hamster]

We don't need to preserve human life. The world is overpopulated, polluted, almost at the end, and nearly stripped of all natural resources.

Do you know how to fix world hunger? Kill your next door neighbor, kill your family, shoot the cops when they come, and go out in a blaze of glory; OR: If you're gonna shoot up a school...better bring something that goes boom to get the most impact...cause: You're all a strain on the food supply...a few less of you would benifit everyone greatly...not putting backpacks on rats. What fun is jumping off a cliff if you're tied to a bungee cord? Screw the cord!! You can't? you're big pussy? Well then...Atleast Be Individual...jump with bricks tied to your neck. You won't fell a thing...

[Socar MYLES]

Even without the implants, they've already been using rats (both Rattus norvegicus and Cricetomys) to search out mines in minefields for a while--it's just easier when they can be controlled automatically, instead of being painstakingly trained. Since the rats seem to like "working", I can't see any huge problem with it....

[Gimbal8]

Just another reason why rats kick ass

As far as humans go: NPG

[[Shizo]]

Yeah, i actually agree with Hamster for the first time.
Lets have an annual "shoot em up" day all over the world. Soon it'll be much less crowded and the remaining people will live easily and in harmony.

[ May 04, 2002: Message edited by: [Shizo] ]

[Freddio]

actually there is plenty of food. In fact research has proven that the world could actually sustain twice its current population. Its all matter of distribution.

So killing millions of fat people in the western world will not remotely affect the food supply in Africa.

[Impaler]

You got that right, Freddio.

American farmers are paid by the federal government to grow LESS food to support our economy. If starving Somalians could afford a pound of bananas or grapes, then we would sell it to them.

Not to mention genetically engineered foods, and more specifically, soy, could not only support the entire world's need for food with ease, but it could also get rid of our need for meat, thereby decreasing the huge ecological risks involved with cattle grazing. Plus, you could eliminate pesticides, and plant earlier and harvest twice. Allergic reactions are steadily disappearing as we test our food before we eat it, and hydroponics could theoretically stop any spread of bad strains of wheat or oats.

Not only that, but it's been calculated by some humanitarian foundation that the entire world's population could fit in the state of Texas, with each person getting 1200 feet of living space. We're not out of space, and we're not of food. The only thing we need to worry about is water-- it's running out fast.

[Trance-R]

Mmm.. I would like to bring up the one factor of drained natural resource: world economy based on consumption.
It is at least partly true economy has much to do with consumption of resources. Look at the TV-Ad's and whatever ads there are. People make products that could be replaced by something else or is not needed at all. Many products are mass produced without a care to what will happen to most of it.

[Jucas]

Poor rats? Really... They aren't feeling any pain, they are getting rewarded for nothing. Rats are consitently used for testing, most are injected with some awful disease which kills them in some toture filled way. This experiment is hardly worth "poor rats".

[Giant Hamster]

Freddido: Do we really NEED Somolia? Not really...

Thus: Starving people in somolia will be blown up whilst overweight food over-consumers everywhere else will be maimed and drained of their fat juices.