THERE is something chilling about turning research intended to ease suffering into a weapon that can be used to hurt people. Nociceptors, nerve cells that convey pain in the body, have been studied by researchers trying to relieve chronic pain. It emerged this week that a group working for the Pentagon is using that knowledge to turn the tables: to maximise the pain caused by a non-lethal weapon called a Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP). So it is no surprise that pain researchers have reacted in horror to the plan (see “Maximum pain is aim of navy study”).
Some…
