One new technique being used by some neuroeconomists is transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which a coil held next to the head issues a low-level magnetic pulse that temporarily disrupts activity in a certain part of the brain, to see if that changes the subject's preferences for example, for a particular food and how much he is willing to pay for it.

ECONOMIST: Neuroeconomics: Do economists need brains? | The

Today, the best that can be said is that the extent and duration of future EMP-induced blackouts would depend on whether the emitter generates a small or large pulse, and whether it is detonated at ground-level or from high altitudes.

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Melott says that although the Northern hemisphere would have been left untouched by the first pulse of the extinction, he notes that, later, glaciation and sea level change would have had an impact everywhere.

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