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August 26, 2011

Strange But True!

Q. You know about warring humankind letting “loose the dogs of war,” but how about “the bugs of war”?

A. Fifty years ago, following the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik, the U.S. Department of Defense formed the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), which developed stealth aircraft and an early version of the Internet, says Amy Stewart in “Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects.” These days, DARPA researchers have also turned their attention to insects, seeking to implant computer chips inside caterpillars before they metamorphose into moths or butterflies so they can be directed into enemy locations to transmit intelligence without detection.


 
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