Skeptic of Havana Syndrome Tested Secret Weapon on Himself

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Working in strict secrecy, a government scientist in Norway built a machine capable of emitting powerful pulses of microwave energy and, in an effort to prove such devices are harmless to humans, in 2024 tested it on himself. He suffered neurological symptoms similar to those of "Havana syndrome," the unexplained malady that has struck hundreds of U.S. spies and diplomats around the world.

Posted by retort at 10:39 PM | 4 COMMENTS | permalink

The results were all the more shocking because the Norwegian researcher had earned a reputation as a leading opponent of the theory that directed-energy weapons can cause the type of symptoms associated with AHIs, those familiar with the events said. Trying to dramatically prove his point, with himself as a human guinea pig, he achieved the opposite.

"I don't know what possessed him to go and do this," one of the people said. "He was a bit of an eccentric."

Comments

No paywall version:

www.the-express.com

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-14 11:18 PM

Testing on himself seems a bit nutty, but:

10 Scientists Who Experimented on Themselves
mentalfloss

So not unheard of.

Self-experimentation in medicine (wikipedia) gives other examples, including the guy who figured out that the cause of stomach ulcers was bacteria, and not stress by drinking a vial of bacteria ("His only option was self-experimentation: ethical measures forbade him from administering H. pylori to any other person. In 2005, Marshall and his long-time collaborator Robin Warren were awarded Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, "for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease".)