While many of our imaginings of future technologies involve fantasies of humanized computers and computerized humans, one possibility we don’t always ponder is the scientific advancements that will be made with our own flesh and senses. Popular culture doesn’t always explore the supplements and compounds that will be developed that will enhance our ability to perceive our world or extend our lives without the use of a microchip or a nanobot.
The California based bio-hacker group Science for the Masses (SfM) has developed a special eye drop formula that causes night vision in human beings. Using the chemical Ce6, a naturally-occurring compound that is found in some deep sea fish, and has been used in some laser cancer treatments as a light amplifier to help destroy cancer cells. It has also been used to improve the dim-light vision of adults in a couple of scientific studies. SfM had the idea to mix the Ce6 with insulin, and then with a saline solution so that it could be applied as an eye drop to their test subject – the Insulin facilitates the absorption of Ce6 to the retina. Their test subject was then taken into a dark night along with four control subjects, and was asked to pick out markings and individuals hiding in a grove of trees. The results were inarguable, with the subject treated with the Ce6 picking out 100% of the people, hiding at a distance of 25 to 50 meters, whereas the controls only picked out 33%. (source)
No doubt, this technology will be funded by and applied in the military field, as these types of strange advancements in human ability usually are. I can just see the warrior of a century from now – a genetically modified, steroid-enhanced, telekinetic human android with night vision. Is there any way to avoid this nightmarish future?
