Maximum pain is aim of new weapon

Maximum pain is aim of new US weapon

* 05 March 2005
* From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
* David Hambling
�Even if the use of temporary severe pain can be justified as a restraining measure, the long-term effects are unknown�
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18524894.500

THE US military is funding development of a weapon that delivers a bout of excruciating pain from up to 2 kilometres away. Intended for use against rioters, it is meant to leave victims unharmed. But pain researchers are furious that work aimed at controlling pain has been used to develop a weapon. And they fear that the technology will be used for torture.

"I am deeply concerned about the ethical aspects of this research," says Andrew Rice, a consultant in pain medicine at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. "Even if the use of temporary severe pain can be justified as a restraining measure, which I do not believe it can, the long-term physical and psychological effects are unknown."

The research came to light in documents unearthed by the Sunshine Project, an organisation based in Texas and in Hamburg, Germany, that exposes biological weapons research. The papers were released under the US's Freedom of Information Act.

One document, a research contract between the Office of Naval Research and the University of Florida in Gainsville, is entitled "Sensory consequences of electromagnetic pulses emitted by laser induced plasmas". It concerns so-called Pulsed Energy Projectiles (PEPs), which fire a laser pulse that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid, like a person (New Scientist, 12 October 2002, p 42). The weapon, destined for use in 2007, could literally knock rioters off their feet.

According to a 2003 review of non-lethal weapons by the US Naval Studies Board, which advises the navy and marine corps, PEPs produced "pain and temporary paralysis" in tests on animals. This appears to be the result of an electromagnetic pulse produced by the expanding plasma which triggers impulses in nerve cells. The new study, which runs until July and will be carried out with researchers at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, aims to optimise this effect. The idea is to work out how to generate a pulse which triggers pain neurons without damaging tissue.

The contract, heavily censored before release, asks researchers to look for "optimal pulse parameters to evoke peak nociceptor activation" - in other words, cause the maximum pain possible. Studies on cells grown in the lab will identify how much pain can be inflicted on someone before causing injury or death.

New Scientist contacted two researchers working on the project. Martin Richardson, a laser expert at the University of Central Florida, refused to comment. Brian Cooper, an expert in dental pain at the University of Florida, distanced himself from the work, saying "I don't have anything interesting to convey. I was just providing some background for the group." His name appears on a public list of the university's research projects next to the $500,000-plus grant.

John Wood of University College London, an expert in how the brain perceives pain, says the researchers involved in the project should face censure. "It could be used for torture," he says, "the [researchers] must be aware of this."

Amanda Williams, a clinical psychologist at University College London, fears that victims risk long-term harm. "Persistent pain can result from a range of supposedly non-destructive stimuli which nevertheless change the functioning of the nervous system," she says. She is concerned that studies of cultured cells will fall short of demonstrating a safe level for a plasma burst. "They cannot tell us about the pain and psychological consequences of such a painful experience."
From issue 2489 of New Scientist magazine, 05 March 2005, page 8

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18524894.500

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Editorial: Pain-maximising weapon could be abused
* 05 March 2005
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/mg18524893.500

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 might argue that their worries are misplaced. After all if the research is successful, the police could in future carry PEPs rather than guns. If that were to happen, fewer people would end up dead: they would just have to recover from a severe bout of pain.

It sounds plausible, except there are grave concerns that PEPs will cause permanent nerve damage and psychological harm. Also, non-lethal weapons tend not to remain confined to police forces. Soldiers have used them in combination with conventional weapons. There have been several reports, for example, of soldiers flushing out caves with CS gas and shooting those who run out.

Despite the chill, we should not condemn this research simply because it subverts medical knowledge. The idea falls at the same point as all other non-lethal weapons: they can be fatal and they are abused.
From issue 2489 of New Scientist magazine, 05 March 2005, page 3
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