Cyborg cockroaches may soon deliver life-saving drugs to disaster victims

Picture this: You’ve just undergone one of the most harrowing experiences of your life, and you’re trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building. You’re injured, air is running out, and human rescuers can’t reach you. But crawling through the rubble to administer life-saving drugs and reassure you comes the last thing you’d …

[Anonymous Coward]

Dune provides a less charitable view of what they might get used for.

[stiine]

Don't forget their use in The Fifth Element.

[Evaluator]

Disaster victims under tons of rubble need what? An injection? For compassionate euthenasia?

[Anonymous Coward]

compassionate youthing

Mostly used in Canada, altho Nederlands is an alternative

[Evil Auditor]

It's the giant burrowing cockroach. The injection is to sedate the cockroach. It's a snack.

[DS999]

If they're trying to scare survivors to death so they don't need to hurry to dig them out

They've got step one down pretty good. Step two would be connecting a tiny speaker to it, so that the creepy roach terrifying carrying a needle TALKS to you!

[Brave Coward]

Re: If they're trying to scare survivors to death so they don't need to hurry to dig them out

'Don't be afraid, Arthur. Be very, VERY scared!'

[AceRimmer1980]

Cyborg Silverfish?

Didn't the Cybermen have these?

[RM Myers]

This seems fitting

In the country where almost everything tries to kill you, cockroaches are chosen to be the animal to save you. Australia really is upside down - it's not just an artifact of how globes are made.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: This seems fitting

Never fear, you can scare them away with a bright light.

[Denarius]

Re: This seems fitting

and we love it that way

[Anonymous Crowbar]

Re: This seems fitting

Living a mile from the sun, and every indigenous species tries to kill you. Even the Duck Billed Platypus is venomous FFS! [Although not lethal to humans....]

[Anonymous Coward]

Ingenious

As someone who spent around 30 years as a volunteer with an SAR (search & rescue) organisation, some of it in a leadership role, I know that reaching trapped survivors quickly is essential. Firstly, to know they are there so efforts and resources can be focussed where they can do the most good. Secondly, survival rates drastically improve when a casualty knows rescuers are on their way. Thirdly, administering pain relief can significantly improve survival rates (whilst some casualties are trapped in voids without physical injuries, severe but survivable injuries are common).

Yes, you’d much prefer to see a human breaking through to you, but communication is often a necessary first step.

[Caver_Dave]

Re: Ingenious

As an ex-Cave Rescue volunteer (casualty care and rescue rigging), I second that.

Moral boosting greatly improves outcome.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Ingenious

> Moral boosting

Can cockroaches be ordained?

[BoHu]

Re: Ingenious and revolutionary

Exactly. And granted at 0.5 mL per injector syringe, a single one of these human-in-the-loop teleoperated drug-delivery paramedic cyborg cockroaches won't quite replace a whole "fluffy, drooly St. Bernard"-ordained most morally comforting of brandy barrels on its own, a heartwarming swarm of just 56 of those together get you a real winner, right collectively delivering the "clinically relevant dosing" of a bar-standard shot of whisky, direct on site, via subcutaneous "Multi-Orifice Jet Injection" even (eg. ref. 89 of 'research paper' TFA link) ...

Absolutely most groovy! ;)

[keb]

Re: Ingenious ... and diabolical

Considering the near mandatory Covid jab scheme implemented in Australia and many other countries, the governments have already proven they cannot be entrusted with such a vector. Indeed that no one should be - this technology must be banned and placed under the same restrictions as chemical and biological weapons worldwide.

[Filippo]

This seems appropriate... https://xkcd.com/2128/

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmmm...

"Can grow up to 8 centimeters in length... known to be docile... relatively clean and disease-free..." I'm pretty sure this is AI content lifted from my dating profile.

[BoHu]

Re: Hmmm...

Stop bragging!

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps drop them from drones?

Into trenches, with single shot pistols instead of syringes?

[WilliamBurke]

Re: Perhaps drop them from drones?

I'd be surprised if they didn't have them already.

[ArguablyShrugs]

"Hopefully large bugs bearing medical aid isn’t something that’ll send you into a panic."

And if you do panic at the sight of large bugs, we will have a spider/snake hybrid delivering anti‑anxiety meds soon.