Cyborg beetles — the agency that invented the Internet is creating spy bugs

Here’s another one of those things that makes you wonder if what you’re reading is real or a hoax.  However, in this case, the story appears legitimate.  There is already a beetle, being developed under a DARPA research grant (DARPA is the agency, via ‘DARPAnet’ that invented the original Internet)  which has radio controls added and can be remotely manipulated via electrodes.  The idea, I guess, is that these beetles could serve as reconnaissance mechanisms on battlefields and in covert operations.  They might also, eventually, include GPS transmitters which could help in the targeting of bombs by jetfighters.

You can read the full story here.

Here’s a picture of how this works:

rc beetle

Of course, this is a much more important use of American taxpayers’ dollars then, say, finding a way to halt the spread of breast cancer, or reducing the infant mortality rate in the U.S.?

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