18/07/2025
Scientists in China just turned bees into living drones, and honestly, the future feels a little too close to science fiction right now.
Researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology created the world's lightest brain controller - weighing just 74 milligrams, which is lighter than the nectar a bee normally carries. They strap this tiny device to a bee's back and use three needles to send electronic pulses directly into its brain.
The result? Remote-controlled bees that follow commands 90% of the time.
The team can make the bees fly left, right, forward, or backward with electronic signals. They're calling them "cyborg bees" and suggesting they could be used for military reconnaissance, search and rescue missions, or disaster relief operations.
Think about that for a second - every bee you see could potentially be carrying a tiny camera and taking orders from someone miles away.
Before this, the lightest insect controller was three times heavier and could only control slow-moving beetles and roaches. But bees can fly up to 3 miles without resting, making them perfect tiny scouts.
The technology isn't perfect yet. The bees still need wired power, and the batteries that would make them truly wireless are too heavy. But the researchers are working on it.
This feels like something straight out of a dystopian movie, except it's happening right now in labs across the world. The line between nature and technology just got a Scientists in China just turned bees into living drones, and honestly, the future feels a little too close to science fiction right now.
Researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology created the world's lightest brain controller - weighing just 74 milligrams, which is lighter than the nectar a bee normally carries. They strap this tiny device to a bee's back and use three needles to send electronic pulses directly into its brain.
The result? Remote-controlled bees that follow commands 90% of the time.
The team can make the bees fly left, right, forward, or backward with electronic signals. They're calling them "cyborg bees" and suggesting they could be used for military reconnaissance, search and rescue missions, or disaster relief operations.
Think about that for a second - every bee you see could potentially be carrying a tiny camera and taking orders from someone miles away.
Before this, the lightest insect controller was three times heavier and could only control slow-moving beetles and roaches. But bees can fly up to 3 miles without resting, making them perfect tiny scouts.
The technology isn't perfect yet. The bees still need wired power, and the batteries that would make them truly wireless are too heavy. But the researchers are working on it.
This feels like something straight out of a dystopian movie, except it's happening right now in labs across the world. The line between nature and technology just got a whole lot blurrier.
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