Because what good are insects if we can't mutate them to giant proportions and ride them around crashing into things, scientists at North Carolina State University have fitted a cockroach with a microcontroller that allow it to be wirelessly steered. Next: doing the same thing to humans. You watch.
The microcontroller is wired to the roach's antennae and cerci.
The cerci are sensory organs on the roach's abdomen, which are normally used to detect movement in the air that could indicate a predator is approaching - causing the roach to scurry away. But the researchers use the wires attached to the cerci to spur the roach into motion. The roach thinks something is sneaking up behind it and moves forward.
The wires attached to the antennae serve as electronic reins, injecting small charges into the roach's neural tissue. The charges trick the roach into thinking that the antennae are in contact with a physical barrier, which effectively steers them in the opposite direction.
The idea is that the cockroaches could be sent in after earthquakes to locate victims trapped under debris. My idea is that we just hire the Hulk to get in there and pick all the debris off them. "The more realistic approach" I like to call it.
Source: Starts with a G ends with an O
