The Future of Medicine May Be Nano Robots
And they already play soccer! Well, sort of.
In the future, nano-robots may perform all kinds of important jobs for humans, including health-related jobs such as molecular repair. But shelve your sci-fi nerd nightmares about marauding swarms of wicked nano ‘bots romping around in your bloodstream: for one thing, these microscopic critters simply mimic what already exists in nature. After all, living cells are machines. For example, many bacteria come equipped with flagella propellers (something Michael Behe just can’t seem to handle), which are powered by nanomotors. Now, the development of self-replication* is apparently where the ooh-scary teleological debate starts to come in, but remember that the earth has already been ravaged by self-replicating nano-robots many a time: we just call them, um, cells.
Medical treatment at the cellular level, one syringe away! Rad. Nanorobotics may assist in functions related to sensing and detecting, communications, disease, aging, and genetics. We already have Nubots (machines made of DNA). Seriously, read these links if you’re curious about things like nano-robots, one-upping evolution and humans creating living cells. (What is “living”, really? It’s a legit question. Or maybe I’m just bitter about O-chem.) I really dig this fascinating field of science but I won’t haplessly butcher it for you any further.
Web it out, kids:
Darth Nano? The Dark Side of Nanorobotics! This article is a few years old but presents a good overview for the lay person.
Wikipedia on Nanorobotics (but maybe you shouldn’t trust Wiki for science)
Dude, Don’t Tell Me You Missed the 2007 Robocup: Nano Soccer
Synthetic Biology: Not If, But When
*It only takes 300 genes to self-replicate. Extremely complicated, but possible.
7/26/07 UPDATE: FDA issues nanotechnology standards
10/22/07 UPDATE: Really cool nanogels help deliver certain drugs more effectively!
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POSTED IN: Computers, Genetics, Medicine, Misc., Science, Treatment
3 opinions for The Future of Medicine May Be Nano Robots
Raymond Johnson
Jul 11, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Very good stuff Sara. You broke it down so even I can get it a little.
Sara
Jul 11, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Thanks, Ray. It is complicated but fascinating. If you are interested I encourage you to check out the links.
Sara
Nov 21, 2007 at 1:59 pm
More updates: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071116155722.htm
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