New model army

The US Army recently commissioned and received a report on the impact of biotech research on the advance of military technology. The entire thing can be found online, and if you're willing to risk a serious headache from the fuzzy text, you can read

The US Army recently commissioned and received a report on the impact of biotech research on the advance of military technology. The entire thing can be found online, and if you're willing to risk a serious headache from the fuzzy text, you can read all about what biotech may bring to the battlefield of tomorrow.

It's interesting stuff. The most important benefits of biotechnology are seen to be in the realms of medicine and treatment of injury and disease. Soldiers can expect to have treatments and vaccines tailored specifically to their genetic structure, as well as eat food which has been tailored for easy digestion. Enhanced screening techniques are also on the drawing boards, to make sure that tomorrow's soldier is fit for service in any number of extreme environments.

But most alarming are the reports recommendations that biotech could not only improve a soldier's survivability and adaptability - ridding sailors of seasickness, reducing food intake and need for sleep - but also out and out enhance performance. Brain implants and self healing armour are just two of the more outlandish ideas that the paper presents.

Of course, the paper is merely an exploration of what is possible, much of it may net be ever applied. Regardless, it is an interesting read on just how far biotechnology will come along in the next ten years.
Read the report here