New Technologies

Technology has come a long way from the iron and stone of a couple hundred years or so ago. People who were hurt or came into contact with a disease had to rely on God and sheer luck to get them through. Thankfully, as technology advanced, so did humankind’s understanding of the things around them. Recently a new field of study called Nano-robotics has opened up, focusing on a type of microscopic machine known as a nanobot. A nanobot is a microscopic machine that allows for precision actions with objects on a macroscopic level, or can manipulate environments with Nano scale. Although manmade nanobots do not currently exist they are under intense study from the various fields, which hope to benefit from their creation.

            The use of nanobots in medicine is of almost limitless potential. Nanobots designed to seek out cancer cells will possibly be a solution to the deadly disease. These microscopic wonders could possibly help the body with repairing damaged tissue. If people who sustained an injury that would normally be fatal could be repaired on the scene by nanobots waiting for such an opportunity, hundreds upon thousands of lives could be saved. Soldiers wounded in the field would have a lower chance of dying.

            While having the possibility to save lives there is a dark underside that holds the possibility to end life as we know it. The Grey Goo Theory is the idea that rogue nanobots would self replicate while consuming everything in their path. A nanobot holocaust is unlikely because the immobile nanobots would run out of useable materials long before they could eat the world away. In another world changing situation a horde of nanobots could be told to target vital organs and release a slew toxins to incapacitate or kill potential targets. On a less deadly note, breathing in

Nano-materials used in carbon fibers can lead to serious pulmonary disease issues.

            The achievements of mankind have led us to the point where we can land a man on the moon, explore some of the deepest ocean trenches known to man, and talk to someone on the other side of the world. With all of these advances, soon Nano-robotics will revolutionize the world for better or worse.

            Phillip Lusby