A PROMISING cancer treatment is being investigated as the basis for a stun gun that produces longer-lasting shocks than existing weapons, such as the Taser.
The technology delivers nanosecond pulses of high voltage that can punch temporary holes in a cell nucleus or other structures inside a cell. This can cause a cell to destroy itself in the process known as apoptosis, which is what makes it a potential cancer treatment.
Now these nanosecond pulses are being investigated as a way to temporarily disable muscles, according to David Law at the Pentagon鈥檚 in Quantico, Virginia. 鈥淭he short-pulse simulations and research appear to demonstrate a degree of involuntary muscular impairment or inhibition, that remains in effect for durations longer than the exposure period,鈥� he says.
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Tasers use multiple electric shocks of a few microseconds over a 5-second cycle, and the manufacturer claims the effect wears off almost immediately. Nanosecond pulses could have a longer-lasting effect. In laboratory tests on cells similar to nerve cells, 60-nanosecond pulses caused the cells鈥� electrical activity to cease for 15 minutes.
