Rapid advances in neuroscience could have a dramatic impact on national security and the way in which future wars are fought, US intelligence officials have been told.

A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person's brain and read their intentions before they act.

The idea that an array of easily available and addiction-free drugs could be used to improve memory or increase intelligence is the stuff of science fiction dystopia. But a new report by leading scientists in the fields of psychology and neuroscience argues that, very soon, there really will be a pill for every ill.

In cutting-edge experiments, scientists have injected human brain cells into monkey fetuses to study the effects. Critics warn that these experiments may accidently produce monkeys with brains more human than animal, posing a new set of ethical issues.

Researchers have developed ever more sensitive ways of peering into the brain to seek out explanations for brain disease. In most cases these technologies are good news for patients, bringing new ways of understanding health and treatment options. However, standards defining ethical ways of moving forward with the new technology are needed in order to prevent abuse

Scientists have successfully demonstrated the technology for controlling a computer by thought alone, raising hopes and fears about the potential for brain-machine interfaces.

What used to be confined to speculative fiction is fast becoming scientific fact. Brain boosting, or "neural enhancement," is already being done - and much more powerful techniques are on the way. Some observers say we're rushing into this brain-gain revolution without sufficient thought or preparation.

Researchers examine the ethics of using memory-enhancing drugs or brain-enhancing implants.

Zack Lynch explores the
political and economic issues that might arise as the convergence of nanotech, biotech, infotech and cognitive science "make possible neurotechnology -- tools that can influence the brain."

As nano, bio, info and cognitive technology increasingly converge, proponents of NBIC (the somewhat clunky acronym for this multitech intersection), are calling for the legal, ethical and regulatory implications to be considered from the very beginning.