Scientists Erase Specific Memories in Mice: Mice Succumb to Fascism

To be filed under “seriously creepy.”

Scientists have figured out a way to Eternally Sunshine lab mice, effectively erasing specific memories.

I’m going to reword that statement and write it for you again because I’m not sure you got it.

People who play around with lab animals for a living have figured out how to make their subjects forget portions of their lives. Completely.

What if this stuff works on humans? The initial concept is that it could be used for "therapeutic reasons" which is a terrifyingly vague goal. Imagine, if you will, a culture where painful memories hold no real consequence, where forgetting is equivalent to healing. Welcome to the world of fast-food mental health, would you like fries with that? (Sidebar: If someone is struggling with post-traumatic stress, does erasing the stressful memory eliminate the symptoms?)

Or, if we want to get really Orwellian: Is it entirely outside of the realm of imagination that Military and Police forces might use it to erase memories of corruption or excessive force, effectively crippling oversight? (Am I insane, or is this a serious question?)

I'm all for scientific advancement and intellectual curiosity, but this makes me long for an abacus.