DARPA is examining health on a nano scale through its electrical prescriptions (ElectRx) program.
The human body obviously has an amazing capacity to correct problems in its own system. There's a huge range of conditions that we have the built-in ability to cure ourselves of, and DARPA plans to tap into this ability with ElectRx.
To understand the ElectRx program, first imagine the cardiac pacemaker – a device which delivers targeted electric shocks to the muscles of the heart to stimulate it to beat at a normal rate.
Now, imagine a device far tinier, that could be delivered through a needle. This device could be designed to constantly monitor certain conditions in the body, and then directly stimulate certain nerve pathways to trigger the body's correct response mechanism when it's not working as it should be. Let's say blood sugar regulation isn't working properly in a diabetic – this technology could potentially detect a blood sugar level anomaly and trigger the pancreas to release glucagon or insulin to sort it out.
DARPA does seem to be pursuing a super soldier program.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday October 08 2015, @04:40AM
So Nanites then? [wikia.com]
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Thursday October 08 2015, @04:43AM
If the American (super)soldier is likely to be diabetic, maybe Bloomberg was right [wikipedia.org]?
(or is it a new high in political correctness of not discriminating between people based on their fitness for the job? — large trollish grin — :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 08 2015, @07:32AM
The first word in the acronym is Death. Either that, or Defense, which is only plausible if the only other alternative is Death. The United States with the National Security Act of 1947 (you know, the one that created the CIA and the NSA?) changed the name from the Department of Death and Destruction and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse to the "Department of Defense". So, regenerative soldiers? I can only imagine that the otherside has come up with a zombie defense. Probably involves cricket bats, a la "Shaun of the Dead".
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 08 2015, @12:34PM
DARPA invented the internet, just for starters. Many of their projects have world-changingly positive effects on the civilian world, far more reaching than their military uses.
(Score: 3, Touché) by sudo rm -rf on Thursday October 08 2015, @02:33PM
And they invented BSD. But apart from BSD and TCP/IP, what has the DARPA done for us?