Cockroaches aren’t real

A team of Japanese scientists have engineered a system for creating remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches, per a new peer-reviewed study published this week.

🪳 More deets: This isn’t the first instance of remote-controlled cockroaches. But the scientists said their method – essentially a solar-powered, rechargeable ‘backpack’ wired to the insects’ nervous systems – allowed them to assume control of the insect for a much longer period of time than ever before.

• By stimulating the insects’ legs with electrical pulses from the backpack, the researchers were able to steer them left or right on command. (Don’t worry, they reportedly “do not experience pain.")

👀 Looking ahead… The scientists’ next step is to integrate more devices, such as sensors and cameras, into the backpack, then test their method on other flying insects like beetles and cicadas.

• They ultimately envision building an army of remote-controlled cyborg insects ​​with the ability to access hard-to-reach places, which could be used for search and rescue missions or environmental monitoring – and definitely not spying on your enemies.😉