Free Republic

A Northwestern University-led team of researchers has signed a cooperative agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a wireless, fully implantable device that will control the body's circadian clock, halving the time it takes to recover from disrupted sleep/wake cycles. The first phase of the highly interdisciplinary program will focus on developing the implant. The second phase, contingent on the first, will validate the device. If that milestone is met, then researchers will test the device in human trials, as part of the third phase. The full funding corresponds to $33 million over 4 1/2 years.

By 2014 the Army may issue more than combat gear to deploying soldiers. University of Connecticut researchers are developing an implantable chip that would be injected under soldiers' skin to help monitor vital health information while they are out in the field. “It sounds like science fiction but it's not,” said Fotios Papadimitrakopoulos, professor of chemistry and associate director of the Institute of Materials Science at UConn. “We're taking components from traditional biology and nanotechnology and trying to marry them.” Six UConn faculty members have been working to create a nanosensor, just millimeters in length and width, that will be...

<p>The Federal Drug Administration has ruled that an implantable microchip used for ID purposes is not a regulated device, paving the way for the chip's immediate sale in the United States, the manufacturer announced today.</p> <p>For the past several weeks, Applied Digital Solutions has worked to get its VeriChip -- a biochip containing personal data that is similar to devices used to identify lost pets -- classified as a non-regulated device. On Thursday, the company's wish was granted.</p>