Day of the Shark?

In the 1970's movie "Day of the Dolphin", George C. Scott plays a researcher studying dolphin intellegence, believing that they can be taught to communicate with humans. However, in true Hollywood fashion an evil corporate man has his own plans to use the dolphins in a right-wing plot to blow up the presidential yacht.

Recently the U.S. Navy has used dolphins not in some crazy industrial-military conspiracy, but to save lives by locating mines in Iraqi waters at the early stages of the Iraq war. Now the Navy may have a new tool in the war on terror -- sharks.

Remote-controlled sharks may be used by scientists to patrol the waters off the United States. The "stealth sharks" will be guided by electrodes in the brain, it has been revealed by the Pentagon.

Scientists want to exploit the natural ability of sharks to glide swiftly and silently through water to track movements by enemy vessels and smugglers. The research builds on developments in brain implant technology which have already seen scientists controlling the movements of fish, rats and monkeys.

Scientists from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency plan to implant devices into blue sharks and release them into the ocean off the coast of Florida. Sonar beamed from naval acoustic signalling towers would be used to communicate with the sharks.

A limit will be set on each shark's time on the job to protect it from exhaustion, New Scientist magazine reported. "Despite this limitation, though, remote controlled sharks do have advantages that robotic underwater surveillance vehicles just cannot match. They are silent and they power themselves," it said.

The New York Police Department is considering recruiting rats to its disaster response team to look for hidden bombs or people trapped under rubble.

Technology that was once considered state-of-the-art military technology has eventually found its way into video games, personal communication devices and even toys as it becomes common-place. I wonder if in 15 or 20 years my grandchild will have an RC Jaws from Radio Shack on his Christmas list? If they're available, I'm gonna' have to get me one of those.