Monday, May 6, 2002		Article

When mouse lords over rat!

Rats steered by a computer up to 500 metres (yards) away could soon help find buried earthquake victims or dispose of bombs, scientists said.

The remote-controlled "roborats" can be made to run, climb, jump or turn left and right through electrical probes, the width of a hair, implanted in their brains. Movement signals are transmitted from a computer to the rat's brain via a radio receiver strapped to its back.

One electrode stimulates the "feelgood" centre of the rat's brain, while two other electrodes activate the cerebral regions which process signals from its left and right whiskers.

Scientists at the State University of New York trained the wired-up rats to turn left or right in a maze, according to the artificial whisker stimuli.

In training, a shot of euphoria rewarded the rats for responding correctly, but after that they turned on cue without any need for reward, the researchers said in the scientific journal Nature.

Small, agile and with an acute sense of smell, the rats can be fitted with satellite positioning tags and trained to seek out explosives or a human body, playing a possible role in security or disaster relief work.

Scientist admits playing with animals' minds, especially for dangerous missions, raises ethical questions but points out the rats live as long as their untreated brethren and lead perfectly normal lives when not wearing their mind-altering backpacks.

"They're not zombies, they work with their instincts," he said.

For sale — one Lara Croft outfit, hardly used, perfect for fancy dress parties.

The original outfit created for the star of video games and the movies has gone under the virtual hammer in a charity Internet auction.

The 10-day bidding, launched by gamemakers Eidos on online auctioneers ebay (www.ebay.co.uk) last week, had reached 1,270 pounds ($1,857) when the last reports came in.

The outfit, worn by Nell McAndrew who modelled as Lara Croft from 1998 to 1999, is described as "one of the rarest and most desirable items in video game history."
"Lara Croft will never be seen in this outfit again, making it even more collectable," a spokesman told Reuters.

A new outfit was unveiled last month by the new Lara Croft model, Jill de Jong.
The lot includes Croft's green rubber all-in-one vest, military-style shorts, trademark leather holsters and replica pistols.
Also included are Lara's circular sunglasses, calf-length socks and backpack.

The outfit is perfect for Lara-mad fans but anyone thinking of slipping into the garb will need to possess model proportions -- the rubber vest, for example, has to be inched into place using talcum powder.

The auction will run until Sunday and is raising money for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.