From Remote Controlled Leeches to Spock's Brain

Remember the episode of the original Star Trek series... I believe it was stardate 5131.4, the USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, encounters a curious ship of unusual design. Upon contact, the ship emits a transport beam and a mysterious woman appears to the Enterprise bridge. She stuns the entire crew using a bracelet-like device, then examines each of them, taking particular interest in Mr. Spock, so much so, she somehow removes his brain, then disappears. McCoy then fashions a device to remotely operate Spock's brainless body.

That episode (along with most of the others) seemed like pure fantasy, but get a load of this...Scientists at the Max Planck Institute have developed "neuron transistors" that can detect the firing of a nearby neuron, or alternatively, can cause a nearby neuron to fire, or suppress it from firing. This amounts to two-way communication between neurons and the electronic-based neuron transistors. The Institute scientists demonstrated their invention by controlling the movement of a living leech from their computer. First leeches, then mice, then dogs and cats, then people!

What if someone was able to slip you a "neuron transistor" without you knowing it? They would be able to control you via remote control. Pretty scary stuff, huh?

Matt “Geppetto” Largo