Science fiction has long used the imagined futuristic ability to create and erase memory to build a plot. Total Recall, Paycheck, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are just a few movies using such a plot device. But new research at Brandeis University indicates that memory erasure may not be so far-fetched or impossible.

By manipulating a protein kinase called CaMKII, researchers say that memory storage can be induced and erased from the hippocampus. CaMKII has been termed a “memory molecule”. When CaMKII is chemically attacked, memory is erased.

Researchers cite the possible use of this discovery in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy but one has to wonder about the ethical uses of this ability to weaken synapses by attacking memory molecules, the ability to prevent or erase memory storage.

Read more: New Research Sheds Light On Memory By Erasing It

Can you recall when the Boxer Rebellion occurred but forget where you left your car keys? Do you remember the name of the 13th president but have a hard time bringing a specific word to mind when you need it? You may be suffering from too much memory.

Research at the Columbia University Medical Center indicates that the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus, the part of the brain where learning and memory are seated, can actually cause you to experience more limited working, or short-term, memory.

Apparently, forgetting some information is essential to being able to access short-term memory. Storing too much information interferes with working memory. In experiments in which mice had the neurogenesis in the hippocampus blocked, they were better able to navigate a maze and locate food in the maze.

The researchers suggest that forgetting some older and useless information makes room for newer and useful information such as where your car is parked in a large lot.

But which information is useless, and is all older information just taking up storage space you could use for something newer and more immediate? It is said of Albert Einstein that he was often distracted and forgetful. He described his wild hairstyle as simply the result of doing nothing with it. But the man who reportedly never untied his shoes because he couldn’t remember to tie them again, was busy pondering the nature of the universe.

According to The Association for Distracted People, “distractedness actually reflects a high level of concentration (on something else)”.