Stepping Into The Future Posted on March 1, 2014 by billyraychitwood
Stepping Into the Future
It is theory at the moment, but I’m thinking this nanotechnology and nanorobotics thing I’ve read about is exciting. Some are saying it is likely and could possibly be viable in the 2020s for medical procedures, and, wait for it, the extension of life.
Number one, what is it, exactly? Well, I can try in my charming southern-boy way to explain it, but, in our web-world today you can google ‘nanotechnology’ and get a more thorough, a much more accurate and scientific explanation.
Number two, what moral issues and problems can nanatechnology mean for our world?
Number one, Nanotechnology is the engineering of molecularly precise structures and, ultimately, molecular machines. The prefix “nano-” refers to the scale of these constructions. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, the width of about five carbon atoms nestled side by side. Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to medicine. The ultimate tool of nanomedicine is the medical nanorobot—a robot the size of a bacterium, composed of molecule-size parts somewhat resembling macroscale gears, bearings, and ratchets. Medical nanorobotics holds the greatest promise for curing disease and extending health span. With diligent effort, the first fruits of medical nanorobotics could begin to appear in clinical treatment as early as the 2020s. Okay, those definitions in italics were not the charming southern-boy’s words but those in an article on a google site I happened to find. It was in a 2009 article of the Life Extension Magazine. The article goes on to explain how these nanorobots will be manufactured in a molecular factory of the future, how these nanorobots will be able to perform multiple tasks after being injected into our bloodstreams. As I understand it, there will be nanorobots for cancer treatment, for diabetes treatment or eradication, for the removal and replacement of diseased cells, for extending life indefinitely…
And this, of course, leads us to…
Number two, what will or would be the ethical and moral issues raised by this nanotechnology? Anyone remember Doctor Frankenstein and the monster he pieced together from dead bodies and brought to life with a lightning bolt? Well, perhaps this nanotechnology is not quite like Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments, but it can certainly raise some important questions. Will the nanotechnology lend itself only to limited USDA approved usage? But we know from history when new technology is introduced, there are elements within our society that will find ways to use it in a criminal way. Will the nanotechnology give us that immortality that so many if not all of us seek? Will it give us those fresh new bodies and minds to go back and makeover the wrongs of our lives? Will it keep love forever new and fulfilling, or, will it lead to family displacements and more children for adoption services? Will there be an eternal happiness cell to inject into our blood streams as well? Will we all become Elois answering to the siren of some new God? What will become of religion and faith? Will there be fulfillment of the Secular Age? Will the new technology defy Mother Nature herself, disrupt the clouds that carry tornadic destruction, keep tsunamis from our shores, find ways to beam-up to Mars and the moon, keep the oceans calm?
Well, I don’t need to take this any further. Your mind can do the math, as they say.
For me, here in twilight, nanotechnology, should it come to fruition, will be Anno-BillyRay, beyond my living span. For that, I should no doubt be grateful. My father and mother, their fathers and mothers, my sister, many friends and acquaintances have passed on and I wish to see them again in a simple, less cluttered Dimension, a Kingdom that exists to those of faith, a Kingdom of which the Son of God spoke over two millennia ago. If all goes right I shall be in that Kingdom, smiling down, bemused by the awkward and frantic moments of humankind, knowing then the eternal flash of truth.
Each of us has a compass through life. Your compass might be quite different from my own… That’s the way we are served up. Otherwise, we would all be eating vanilla, OR, we would all be ‘robotic’.
Okay, my compass has led me to write a few books during my earth-stay. They are likely not classics but they are generally easy reads, mostly lively gritty mysteries inspired by true events, romance, bio/memoir, or some simple thoughts on government and politics. It is my hope you will read a few and enjoy them… There are some 5-Star Reviews among the various titles. You can find more information on the books and me just below:
http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com
http://www.about.me/brchitwood
http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA (IAN – Independent Author Network)
Please follow me Twitter (@brchitwood) – on http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood and on http://facebook.com/billyrayscorner
Also on LinkedIn http://www.goo.gl/cPGFQl
If you have the desire and/or inclination please leave a comment. The 'comment' button is at the beginning of the post.
Stepping Into the Future
It is theory at the moment, but I’m thinking this nanotechnology and nanorobotics thing I’ve read about is exciting. Some are saying it is likely and could possibly be viable in the 2020s for medical procedures, and, wait for it, the extension of life.
Number one, what is it, exactly? Well, I can try in my charming southern-boy way to explain it, but, in our web-world today you can google ‘nanotechnology’ and get a more thorough, a much more accurate and scientific explanation.
Number two, what moral issues and problems can nanatechnology mean for our world?
Number one, Nanotechnology is the engineering of molecularly precise structures and, ultimately, molecular machines. The prefix “nano-” refers to the scale of these constructions. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, the width of about five carbon atoms nestled side by side. Nanomedicine is the application of nanotechnology to medicine. The ultimate tool of nanomedicine is the medical nanorobot—a robot the size of a bacterium, composed of molecule-size parts somewhat resembling macroscale gears, bearings, and ratchets. Medical nanorobotics holds the greatest promise for curing disease and extending health span. With diligent effort, the first fruits of medical nanorobotics could begin to appear in clinical treatment as early as the 2020s. Okay, those definitions in italics were not the charming southern-boy’s words but those in an article on a google site I happened to find. It was in a 2009 article of the Life Extension Magazine. The article goes on to explain how these nanorobots will be manufactured in a molecular factory of the future, how these nanorobots will be able to perform multiple tasks after being injected into our bloodstreams. As I understand it, there will be nanorobots for cancer treatment, for diabetes treatment or eradication, for the removal and replacement of diseased cells, for extending life indefinitely…
And this, of course, leads us to…
Number two, what will or would be the ethical and moral issues raised by this nanotechnology? Anyone remember Doctor Frankenstein and the monster he pieced together from dead bodies and brought to life with a lightning bolt? Well, perhaps this nanotechnology is not quite like Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments, but it can certainly raise some important questions. Will the nanotechnology lend itself only to limited USDA approved usage? But we know from history when new technology is introduced, there are elements within our society that will find ways to use it in a criminal way. Will the nanotechnology give us that immortality that so many if not all of us seek? Will it give us those fresh new bodies and minds to go back and makeover the wrongs of our lives? Will it keep love forever new and fulfilling, or, will it lead to family displacements and more children for adoption services? Will there be an eternal happiness cell to inject into our blood streams as well? Will we all become Elois answering to the siren of some new God? What will become of religion and faith? Will there be fulfillment of the Secular Age? Will the new technology defy Mother Nature herself, disrupt the clouds that carry tornadic destruction, keep tsunamis from our shores, find ways to beam-up to Mars and the moon, keep the oceans calm?
Well, I don’t need to take this any further. Your mind can do the math, as they say.
For me, here in twilight, nanotechnology, should it come to fruition, will be Anno-BillyRay, beyond my living span. For that, I should no doubt be grateful. My father and mother, their fathers and mothers, my sister, many friends and acquaintances have passed on and I wish to see them again in a simple, less cluttered Dimension, a Kingdom that exists to those of faith, a Kingdom of which the Son of God spoke over two millennia ago. If all goes right I shall be in that Kingdom, smiling down, bemused by the awkward and frantic moments of humankind, knowing then the eternal flash of truth.
Each of us has a compass through life. Your compass might be quite different from my own… That’s the way we are served up. Otherwise, we would all be eating vanilla, OR, we would all be ‘robotic’.
Okay, my compass has led me to write a few books during my earth-stay. They are likely not classics but they are generally easy reads, mostly lively gritty mysteries inspired by true events, romance, bio/memoir, or some simple thoughts on government and politics. It is my hope you will read a few and enjoy them… There are some 5-Star Reviews among the various titles. You can find more information on the books and me just below:
http://billyraychitwood.weebly.com
http://www.about.me/brchitwood
http://www.goo.gl/fuxUA (IAN – Independent Author Network)
Please follow me Twitter (@brchitwood) – on http://facebook.com/billyray.chitwood and on http://facebook.com/billyrayscorner
Also on LinkedIn http://www.goo.gl/cPGFQl
If you have the desire and/or inclination please leave a comment. The 'comment' button is at the beginning of the post.
RSS Feed