ZIP may be a chemical version of Tommie Lee Jones' neuralizer.

We were heartened by stories in The New York Times this week about researchers who have found a chemical that can erase memories. So far, it’s just in rats (that awful memory of when Louie got caught in the trap? Gone!) but the implications for human beings are enormous.

Trauma victims could forget. Addicts could forget their learned behavior. Reversing the procedure ultimately could help Alzheimer’s sufferers and aid learning.

A team at the State University of New York-Brooklyn discovered that a molecule called PKMzeta plays a key role in the brain’s memory function. They developed a substance they call “ZIP” that interferes with PKMZeta’s function. When ZIP is injected into a rat’s brain, the animal suddenly forgets learned behaviors — for example, avoiding areas of the cage where mild shocks occur.

It’s sort of a chemical version of the “neuralyzers” that Tommie Lee Jones and Will Smith used in “Men in Black” to erase memories of encounters with space aliens.

Possible applications in humans are obvious. So are possible misuses. “Memory enhancing and erasing is going to come — it’s just a question of when,” neuroscientist Todd C. Sacktor told The Times. “And when it does, society is going to have to use the tool wisely. The history of the world does not give complete optimism about that.”

Boy, that’s an understatement. Self-induced amnesia. Accidents or criminal activity, where key memories are erased. Forgetting where your keys are is one thing. Forgetting what keys are is quite another. We have a memory (so far) of what happened in Greek mythology when Zeus told Pandora not to open the box containing all the evils of the world.