"A day in the future": Nanobots taking care of our health
"A day in the future” is a series of posts about fictional and "mundane" conversations people will have in the future. The goal for me here is to present futurists day to day interactions from a human point of view.
Our world is advancing so fast that most people are not aware of big changes coming thanks to innovations in technology and science.
One of the most important of these innovations, is nanotechnology which consists on the “manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale” Source
Basically this means it will be possible to have highly intelligent and microscopic synthetic beings, doing the tasks we assign them. This little beings are called nanobots.
What is a nanobot:
a robot that allows precise interactions with nanoscale objects, or can manipulate with nanoscale resolution. Source
Of course that there is still much to be done with these micro machines and we still need to wait several years or decades, but eventually, it will be possible for all these mini robots to get together and create a collective intelligence between them. They will also be able to mine the energy of the environment to subsist independently, either within the human body as a synthetic defense mechanism, or in a battlefield doing espionage work, or perhaps in our homes doing cleaning tasks in an invisible way and passing through eliminating all kinds of pests such as mosquitoes and termites.
As I said before, our world is changing rapidly and 2099 will be more different than 2000 in comparison with 1999 and 1900.
Utilities of nanotechnology to biomedical sciences imply creation of materials and devices designed to interact with the body at sub-cellular scales with a high degree of specificity. This could be potentially translated into targeted cellular and tissue-specific clinical applications aimed at maximal therapeutic effects with very limited adverse-effects. Source
The pattern we can see with studies like the one just cited is clear
In the near future, much of our health problems will be resolved passively inside of our own bodies without us having to take medications or constant injections.
I present you here, a brief dialogue from the future between a patient and his doctor, resolving an issue thanks to nanotechnology.
Nanobots taking care of your health
- A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick
- A strand of human DNA is 2.5 nanometers in diameter
- There are 25,400,000 nanometers in one inch
A dedicated guy is enjoying his sleep when suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning ...
-Communication Device: Alert! You are receiving an urgent call from Dr. Parker.
-Patient at home: ummm !? Hello? Doctor, is something wrong? Why are you calling me at this hour? Something happens?
-Dr. Parker: Sorry for the time, but I assure you it is urgent and I should be as brief as possible.
-Patient at home: Well, okay, please tell me ...
-Dr. Parker: Do you remember the procedure we did a few months ago where we injected millions of nanobots into your bloodstream to monitor your recovery from the operation?
-Patient at home: eeeeh, yes, and?
-Dr. Parker: A few minutes ago the nanobots detected an anomaly in your organism caused by a bacterium and they reported the incident to us immediately on the Internet. The bacteria was quickly destroyed by the nanobots, but it seems that they did not act fast enough or there was another unknown foreign agent that entered your body and has not yet been detected, since your vital signs are beginning to vary to levels outside of normal. Can you please tell me how you feel?
-Patient at home: Well now that you mentioned it, I feel a little dizzy, although nothing serious, but ... is this bad? Should I be worried? Should I call emergencies right now?
-Dr. Parker: For now, what we want is to be cautious and examine you more thoroughly in our laboratory, and yes, you need an emergency transport service as soon as possible, so be prepared right now to leave.
-Patient at home: eeehh ohhh, okay ... call emergency right now ...
- A human hair is approximately 80,000- 100,000 nanometers wide
- A single gold atom is about a third of a nanometer in diameter
- One nanometer is about as long as your fingernail grows in one second
-Dr. Parker: No no no, you do not understand me. I mean that the nanobots already contacted using the GPS system to the nearest ambulance in your home, and they will arrive in less than 2 minutes, so be prepared to be picked up in a few moments. Stay in bed I will open the door of your house from here with the emergency code that you provided us ...
-Patient at home: all right Doc no problem I will get ready really quickly, and thanks for waking me up with a call, I would be very scared suddenly seeing an ambulance and doctors waking me up from my sleep!
Thanks again Doc!
Do you think nanotechnology will go as far as to allow an interaction like this to take place in the future?
What other uses do you believe nanotechnology would be good for?
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I do indeed think this scenario could be likely in the near future. With IoT and robotics developing at lightening speeds, we could see some pretty amazing advances in medical technology that are currently unimaginable. I'd sure love to see adoption of strong security standards in the IoT space (think hijacking nanobots) to provide a sense of safety and trust. Do you happen to know if any nanobots are being utilized in the medical field now? Great post. Thanks!
Of course every new technology, requires upgraded security measures.
One episode of black mirror series called “Hated in the Nation” approach a similar risk of hacking small robots.
About current uses in the medical field, not that I am aware off. At least, not anything similar to what the dialogue described. But those times will come.
All in good time. I really do hope we make medical advances such as this!
it will be possible for all these mini robots to get together and create a collective intelligence between them
With all due respect ...I don't think so.
How does that follow?
our world is changing rapidly and 2099 will be more different than 2000 in comparison with 1999 and 1900.
That is an incredible...understatement.
The world has changed more (technologically) in the last year than it has in the last century.
A century from now is literally un imaginable. The future isn't what it used to be.
No one predicted the internet...no one predicted the blockchain. Hell no one anticipated the unintended consequences of a car in every garage (or televisions in every house) and the concept of almost everyone carrying a supercomputer in their pocket, which incidentally could also communicate...was inconceivable forty years ago.
the meshnet, the iridium system both currently under construction..will make it even MORE inconceivable.
let's not talk about Utility Fog...mindblowing.
or graphene...or augmented intelligence, direct neural interfaces, full sensory augmented reality....and many, many more technologies...in the lab right NOW!...
did I already use the word inconceivable
ahem.
sorry..
I agree with your fundamental concepts...but in my not so humble opinion you are being MUCH too conservative.
I meant the possibility for them to operate in synchronization like bees for example.
Indeed it is, but it’s always fun to speculate about it. For example, I am fascinated about the possibilities of reaching immortality and actually living in virtual worlds.
I read you pal, so you wanna a more futuristic scenario for the next “a day in the future” 👌👍
I write books about it.
I've serialized several on Steemit.
one is in progress right now.
but yeah...I eat this kinda stuff up with a spoon.
IF...it's done correctly...and that's HARD.
tech is advancing at warp speed.
and sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
yeah I do want a 'day in the future'.
let's say..oh...Waaaaaaay far in the future..
the year 2020...
...let's say that Elon has worked out the kinks with his neural lace...and that's it's as cheap as...oh...a widescreen TV.
oh yeah..assume that battery technology,solar cell tech, moores law, materials tech (graphene) 3d printing, etc..continue to advance along the present curve
how would that change daily life?
about the bees?
yeah..I can go with that.
in fact it's already being done.
as far as 'hive mind' and 'the borg'...
nah..don't think so.
Augmented intelligence (of bio-critters) however...is a given. Not if..but when.
wow I didn’t know you wrote books, please tell me where to go in order to read them!
Have you watched black mirror series?
I have some ideas about futuristic dialogues about synthetic human beings. I will make these posts soon. Since I also like to post about other different subjects. For example I am planning about posting some pics I took in the Vatican in my trip there :D
It’s always nice to read your comments btw!
Cheers!
I've serialized some of my books on my blog...
They're Speculative Fiction in which my characters encounter what MIGHT happen due to certain technological advances. I do a LOT of research on the technology. It's real....just a little more developed that what we have now.
'if this...then what' is the theme of my books.
I love it. We're getting waay into the future. Yes!
not really...maybe a few months.
everything he wrote about already exists..
And let's not "forget" about the unpublished (web, science journals, etc.) research done in laboratories/universities right now (until they meet all the standards required to be published). And we still have a lot of "old" scientific and technical concepts that have not been pursued because of funds, ethics, politics, etc. I'm still waiting for a moon or mars landing :D.
moon landing has already happened...perhaps you missed it?
I read somewhere that something like 90% of the published papers are not even read.
Who knows what lurks in the minds of men?
I've surely missed it, wasn't even born back then :)). Hope I get to see a moon landing during my lifetime. Wow, that fact I didn't know :| ... 90%? That's a lot of "waste"...
Thank you so much!
thanks for sharing
Your welcome!
Simply put, this fascinates me. Equally, it terrifies me. I feel like there is something to be explored regarding autonomy when it comes to nanotechnology applications. We are already so monitored all the time externally. Being monitored internal feels invasive despite it being helpful. As a person who has had a near death experience due to sepsis, I can see how this type of application will be pursued and employed.
I love these explorations you do of the possible future. This one feels immediate, but maybe because I still clearly remember microchipping my dog (which is not nanotech) and almost not buying sunscreen because it boasted nanotech.
Thanks for always making me think while entertaining me!