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Nature 441, 918-919 (22 June 2006) | doi:10.1038/441918a; Published online 21 June 2006

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Special Report Lure of lie detectors spooks ethicists

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US companies are planning to profit from lie-detection technology that uses brain scans, but the move to commercialize a little-tested method is ringing ethical and scientific alarm bells. Helen Pearson reports.

Bioethicists and civil-rights activists are calling into question plans by two US companies to single out liars by sliding them into a brain scanner and searching their brains for give-away patterns of deception.The two firms say that they will give the accused a chance to prove their innocence using a technique more accurate than the discredited polygraph.