When NBC reported that millions of people around the world were being implanted with a microchip under the skin to help identify them, Americans were alarmed at the prospect of being tagged with this new ‘mark.’

In the same report, ABC predicted that we will all be implanted with a RFID Microchip by 2017. The mere mention of the issue of implanting RFID chips in humans, like the ones already used in dogs and other animals, leads many to believe this may a sign of a sinister plan since the RFID Microchip will give the government too much power, allowing them to track your every move.

Now researchers from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), have developed what they’ve dubbed “neural dust”, a microscopy chip that can be implanted into people’s brains for data collection purposes. And the technology is reportedly so small that humans wouldn’t even know it was inside their heads.

“Using a special wire apparatus, the neural dust can be ‘dipped’ into a person’s cerebral cortex, report scientists, where it would remain embedded indefinitely. And since it’s powered by special piezoelectric materials, this dust wouldn’t require a recharge, which means once it’s there, it’s there for good,” the report suggests.

According to The Wall Street Journal, government-funded implantable brain chips will track a person’s brain activity, read and control people’s thoughts. After gathering this data, the dust then transmits it to a special transmitter installed on a person’s scalp.”

In their report, the WSJ notes notes that “thousands of biologically neutral microsensors, on the order of one-tenth of a millimeter, would convert electrical signals into ultrasound that could be read outside the brain.”

While the technology can be used for noble causes, like the KENS-5 NEWS report below suggests, the concept of microscopic cranial implants — a type of “Mark of the Beast”In anticipation, could even allow governments to control people’s minds. In anticipation, some states, like Virginia, legislation is in process to stop this from happening.

The American military has openly admitted to funding brain-computer projects capable of controlling people’s thoughts and emotions. This fact was confirmed by Jose Carmena, a professor from UCB, who also worked on the neural dust project, helped lead the project.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, and please SHARE this with you friends on Facebook!

H/T: Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Technology Review.