Computer scientists to be the drug dealers of the...

Computer scientists to be the drug dealers of the future?

The US government recently commissioned a study into the near future of drugs, exploring how the landscape might develop beyond gangs producing most of the illegal drugs around the world.

The study concluded that as companies such as 23 And Me continue to offer more cost-effective ways of genetic sequencing and testing, more possibilities will open up for drugs to be tailored to individuals.

Another method could be through transcranial magnetic stimulation, where certain brain functions can be turned up or down via external machines.

One scenario he imagines would make use of biological proteins manufactured with information-processing technology to deliver effects that could be triggered by electromagnetic stimulation. He imagined that they could be used in a club environment where the DJ would release nanoparticles that the audience could ingest. These could then be used to trigger the desired state at a particular point during his or her set using an electrical stimulus (from a headset) into the crowd’s brains.

“The more we can understand the brain, the more we can deliver positive effects such as improved memory function. Do you want to get high? Mellow? Actually I want to live my life in my head as half-human half-cat,” he joked.

Wired