|
DARPA Goal: Foodless Fighters
caught via instapunditSoldiersâ moms will no doubt be horrified. But the Pentagon is looking into ways for GIs to fight for up to five days -- without eating a single meal. During a mission, soldiers in the field typically donât have the time, or the inclination, to chow down. That lack of food can affect their battlefield performance. So Darpa, the U.S. militaryâs far-out research arm, wants scientists to figure out if soldiers can operate at top levels -- without lunch breaks. "The question is: âAre there temporary biochemical approaches we can use to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of soldiers when theyâre already worked to exhaustion?â" said a Darpa life sciences consultant, who asked not to be named. The agency has a couple of ideas on how this might be done: A cocktail of nutrients or so-called "nutraceuticals" could help build endurance. Lowering soldiersâ core body temperature might keep them from overheating. Or, perhaps, the change could be made at the microscopic level, by turbo-charging mitochondria --the cellâs energy suppliers. The Darpa project, called "Metabolic Dominance" or "Peak Soldier Performance," is part of a wider, future-facing Pentagon research push to develop grunts who are pretty much immune to normal human demands. the DefenseTech link has links to other articles about same Posted by: Frank G 2004-02-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=26402 |