A new "truth-telling" industry is emerging in the US which uses brain scans to determine whether or not people are lying. But experts are already questioning the ethics and validity of such tests.

The trouble began in 2003 when a fire gutted Harvey Nathan’s deli in Charleston, South Carolina. In the aftermath, Nathan fought off police charges of arson, but his insurers’ lingering doubts over his innocence have since tied up a payout that could exceed $200,000.

Which is why, last December (2006), Nathan travelled across the US and paid $1500 to have his brain scanned. “We provide a service for people who need to prove they are telling the truth,” says Joel Huizenga, a biologist turned entrepreneur and CEO of No Lie MRI of Tarzana, California.

This excerpt is from an article originally published by New Scientist. Please read the full article here.

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