Scarecrow’s Fear-Inducing Chemicals Coming Soon

The Dark Knight's lankiest villain may have been on to something after all: Scientists report that fear-inducing chemicals could soon be easy to synthesize.

Sure, The Scarecrow may have used crazy hallucinogenic gasses to cripple his victims with nightmarish visions, but the science behind more subtly influencing the textbook definition of fear is more real than ever.

Io9 reports that scientists are coming close to being able to synthesize the scent of sweat from terrified people, which heightens activity in the brains' amygdala. Those exposed to the chemical were more than 40 percent more accurate at identifying "threatening" faces.

According to the article the study uncovering this discovery was at least partially funded by the United States military, which is a little scary in itself.

Can I suggest scientists get back to the whole clean energy thing instead? I'd settle for new breakfast cereal flavors too.