The Speculist

This is interesting:

Deactivating a specific gene transforms meek mice into daredevils, researchers have found. The team believe the research might one day enable people suffering from fear – in the form of phobias or anxiety disorders, for example – to be clinically treated.

The research found that mice lacking an active gene for the protein stathmin are not only more courageous, but are also slower to learn fear responses to pain-associated stimuli, says geneticist Gleb Shumyatsky, at Rutgers University in New Jersey, US.

So here we have the beginnings of a technique which, ultimately, a meglomaniac could use to breed an army of truly fearless warriors. Or a fanatical dad could use to produce the perfect football player.

This idea reminds me of one of those self-help-seminar questions you run across sometimes: what would you do if you knew you couldn't fail? Of course, living without fear isn't exactly the same as knowing you can't fail. Presumably, it would be more like not caring that you can fail. That sounds kind of dangerous.

On the other hand, we read this:

The lack of the protein does not appear to affect other learning experiences, as both sets of mice were able to memorise the paths out of mazes equally well. “This is a good sign for an eventual clinical application that could let people deal with their fears in an entirely different way,” Shumyatsky says.

If I could be smart enough to assess risks rationally and then operate without fear, that sounds like a pretty good deal. But I might go for a boost of intelligence before I think about turning off the fear switch.