Kickstarter/GageMarzullo

You no longer have to be a graduate student or doctor to study neuroscience.

According to an article in Science Now, a new do-it-yourself project, called the RoboRoach, allows kids as young as 10 to create their own cyborg cockroach and control its movement. The $99 kits come with live cockroaches, a surgical kit, and tiny electronic hardware pieces.

The goal behind these RoboRoach kits is to get kids interested in neuroscience research and encourage them to pursue a career in the field. Cockroaches and humans have neurons that function in a similar way, so when you observe the cockroach responding to the signal from your phone, you are also seeing how human neurons respond to a signal. But some scientists and bioethicists are concerned this new product is unethical and may be encouraging cruel treatment of animals.

The RoboRoach made its debut at the TEDx conference in Detroit on Oct. 2. Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo, the co-founders of Backyard Brains, a small startup company of scientists and engineers, created the tiny backpack the cockroach wears and designed the kit that allows the user to attach all the pieces themselves. They funded the project with a Kickstarter, butand the cyborg cockroach will be commercially available starting in November.

How the cyborg cockroaches are created

cockroach.gif

Kickstarter/Gage

Swiping the screen of a smartphone controls the RoboRoach's movement.

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iPhone-Controlled Cyborg Cockroaches Are Stirring Up An Ethics Debate