Nanotechnology and the Future

Nanotechnology and the Future

In an earth that is full of cell phones, laptops, PC’s, palm pilots, flat screen televisions, I-pods, EZ pass, and many other gizmos and gadgets, it is hard to imagine our universe becoming even more high-tech. Many people could not make it through a week, or even a couple of days without a cell phone, car, or television. To make our world even more complicated, the continuous emergence of nanotechnology is creeping upon us, and it will affect out lives whether we want it to or not. Nanotechnology could help us in different fields of medicine, yet it could also be a threat to the human identity. Whatever the case may be, new technology could end up showing us that our human meaning is much more vulnerable than we thought!

Our futures are continuously questioned due to new and different forms of nanotechnology. The future medical revelations provided by the appearance of nanobots are extremely exciting, but at the same time, incredibly daunting. Ralph Merkle and Eric Drexler, two experts on nanotechnology, describe “nanobots” as microscopic robots that are transported into our bodies and “build copies of themselves” (Kurzweil 561). These atomic nanobots are launched into our bloodstreams and eventually impact our immune system for the better. For example, our immune system will become much stronger, and ultimately will be able to destroy diseases a million times faster than any antibiotic could. More specifically, this technology will allow medicine to be more accurate, and sooner or later these nanobots will be able to “remove obstructions in the circulatory system and even go as far as killing cancer cells” (Merkle).

In addition, this nanotechnology will also enable technicians to bui...

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...gsjord). After all, if we had our whole lives set by nanobots, then who are we and what is our identity?

Works Cited

Bringsjord, Selmer. “A Contrarian Future for Minds and Machines.” Chronicle of Higher

Education November 2000: 5. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOHost. University of Hartford Library. 8 August 2004 .

Kurzweil, Ray. “Nanotechnology: Reinventing Our Cells.” Reading Our Histories,

Understanding Our Culutres. Ed. Kathleen McKormick. New York: Longman, 2003. 555-563.

Merkle, Ralph. “Nanotechnology and Medicine.” Nanotechnology and Medicine Web

Site. 8 August 2004. .

Smalley, Richard, E. “Of Chemistry, Love and Nanobots.” Scientific American September

2001: 76. Academic Search Elite. EBSCOHost. University of Hartford Library. 8 August 2004 .