No More Pills? Tiny Nerve-Zapping Implants to Fight Disease

Imagine a future where we can treat diabetes or autoimmune disorders with an electrical zap delivered by a device no larger than a speck of dust. The device, implanted through microsurgery, sits silently on a single nerve bundle, monitoring electrical signals sent out by the brain to itself and various organs in the body. When it detects a problem -- a rogue misfire, or a shift in activity patterns -- the device powers up, sending...