The folklore of all nations is replete with stories of magicians who are capable of performing various miracles. Or maybe they learned this from people from the future? Indeed, many of the opportunities that we consider miraculous are about to become available to mere mortals thanks to the achievements of science.
Balalaika for telekinesis
You probably remember the scene from Gogol's "Night before Christmas", in which dumplings in front of the eyes of the blacksmith Vakula themselves fly into the mouth of the medicine man Patsyuk. But there are already devices that can do this! At the Institute of Living Systems of the Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), Russian scientists have developed a neurodevice called "Balalaika" (borrowed from the cycle of novels by science fiction writer Vadim Panov "Enclaves"). His specialization is the registration of electrophysiological parameters of the body, which makes it possible to create a computer interface capable of transmitting signals to an electronic device. Unlike the foreign analogs available today, the device uses a whole range of parameters at once, and not just one of their varieties.
So, with the help of "Balalaika" you can play computer games without using your hands, control a wheelchair or exoskeleton. If for some reason you cannot go to the clinic for examination, the device allows you to take the necessary readings and send the results to the doctor.
Anger management
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Many magicians and sorcerers are credited with the ability to influence a person. Like, they are able to deprive him of his will and force him to do whatever they want. Take at least Homa Brut from another work of Gogol - "Viy". Our hero could not resist the witch, who wanted to ride him.
Modifying human behavior is a conspiracy nightmare. Meanwhile, scientists from Stanford University argue that there is a method that allows, in particular, to prevent aggressive behavior.
Researchers have found that the brain emits certain signals before an outburst of aggression. They provoke antisocial behavior.
Electrical activity occurs in the nucleus accumbens, where the so-called reward center is located. It is he who is responsible for obtaining pleasure from some activities that contribute to survival - for example, eating food or having sex.
Thus, a man who wants to rape a woman may experience such a strong urge to have sex with her that the social consequences fade into the background. If the "pleasure signal" is turned off by an electrical impulse sent by a special implant implanted in the brain, the subject will refrain from dangerous actions.
According to the authors of the method, it will help fight obesity, cravings for psychoactive substances and gambling, sexual addiction, as well as uncontrolled outbursts of anger. Today, similar implants are already being used in Parkinson's disease, helping to prevent tremors in patients.
In any case, experiments in mice have shown that electrical stimulation of the rodent brain reduces the craving for drinking. Good results have also been observed in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Body metamorphosis
In many fairy tales, sorcerers and magicians can change their appearance at will, turn into other creatures, and not only people, but also animals. In fact, our physical data is determined by a set of genes. So changing the body and the organism as a whole is theoretically possible through the so-called biohacking.
Josiah Zayner, a former NASA employee and president of the Odin startup, is conducting similar experiments. To improve his own body, he uses the genomic editor CRISPR / Cas9 developed by him. Two years ago, Zayner injected himself with the GFP gene extracted from the jellyfish genome. He expected his skin cells to glow green in the dark after that. But so far this has not happened.
In mid-October 2017, right at a press conference, Zayner injected a retrovirus into his arm, which generates a “superpower gene” in the body that increases the production of one of the muscle proteins, myostatin. Then Zayner said that in 6-8 months his muscle mass should increase dramatically, and that the specified gene would endow him with "superhuman strength."
Although doctors believe that such manipulations are unsafe and can lead to unwanted side effects, the researcher does not mind. On his website, Zayner posted detailed instructions on how to independently create "genetic viruses" and change the structure of DNA. He also offers to buy "beginner biohacker" kits from him.
If you look at it, then most of the "miracles" are quite within the power of modern science. Or at least they will become available in the very near future. So the sorcerers will soon be out of work.
Irina Shlionskaya