A recent report from the Hastings Center and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars argue that because emerging technologies are not diverging from one another but converging, researchers should pursue an ethics of emerging technologies.

Batallions of super-soldiers could be selected for specific duties on the basis of their genetic make-up and then constantly monitored for signs of weakness, according to new research from the National Academy of Sciences. New advances in the neurosciences will make it possible to predict how soldiers are likely to respond to environmental stresses like extreme heat and cold, or endurance exercises and monitor them during battle.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Neuroscience is now big business, with discoveries coming thick and fast. The time to worry about the future of our brains is now, says Steven Rose.