Evil villains who have mind control devices have been in the plot of many books, movies, and TV shows but in reality, they don’t exist.

Or do they?

According to a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a device using magnetic fields has been shown to be able to control mice in some very significant ways.

The system is called the Nano-MIND, where MIND stands for Magnetogenetic Interface for NeuroDynamics. It works by targeting specific regions of the brain and activating neural circuits.

What makes this technology unique is that it can be used without having anything implanted or hooked up to the mouse directly. There have been devices to influence the brains of test animals in the past, but they required implants and large devices that made them impractical.

Jinwoo Cheon is the director of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) in South Korea and the senior author of the paper. He released a statement on this new technology, saying:

“This is the world’s first technology to freely control specific brain regions using magnetic fields.” He went on to say, “We expect it to be widely used in research to understand brain functions, sophisticated artificial neural networks, two-way [brain-computer interface] technologies, and new treatments for neurological disorders.”

So, what can this electromagnetic mind control device do?

During experiments, the researchers activated neurons in areas of the brain that controlled appetite and feeding. Once active, they were able to reduce how much food the mice ate by 50%.

In addition, they could activate areas of the brain responsible for mating and maternal behaviors in mice that had not ever reproduced. In this experiment, the researchers said they could:

“significantly increased nurturing behaviors, such as bringing pups to their nest, similar to maternal mice.”

Finally, in the third experiment, they targeted areas of the brain related to how the mice interacted with each other. These mice were shown to be friendlier to mice they had never met when put into a cage together.

While the research in this area is still relatively new, it is hopeful that what is learned could help to treat a variety of neurological conditions in humans, possibly even curing depression and anxiety.

So, mind control is possible, but do we want it?

If you enjoyed that story, check out what happened when a guy gave ChatGPT $100 to make as money as possible, and it turned out exactly how you would expect.