PHILADELPHIA: A couple of years ago, a story emerged about scientists working on “Smart Dust” – nanoparticles that could be employed as sensor networks for a range of security and environmental applications. This was followed by the more literal version of Smart Dust, which was designed to open pathways to establish a human brain-computer interface.
The brain system was labeled “Neural Dust” and was intended to “monitor the brain from the inside.” Inventors speculated that a network of nanoparticles injected into the brain could measure electrical activity in neurons, then use ultrasound to form a two-way transfer of data. This theoretically would lead to the reading, generation, or alteration of information – i.e., mind control. Most disturbingly, at the time, is that their theories had entered the testing phase and showed some success, albeit on a beetle…