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Respirocyte
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Respirocytes are hypothetical, artificial red blood cells that can supplement or replace the function of much of the human body's normal respiratory system. There are two lines of research connected to the production of respirocytes: purely biomechanical (nanobots) and nanobots with bioengineered parts (in particular the DNA machines such as the nanomotors manufactured out of DNA strands by Bell Laboratories).[1]
By definition, respirocytes qualify as molecular nanotechnology, a field of technology still in the very earliest, purely theoretical phases of development. Current technology could not build a respirocyte due to considerations of power, immune reaction or toxicity, computation and communication.
Still entirely theoretical, biomechanical respirocytes would measure 1 micrometer in diameter. Respirocytes mimic the action of the natural hemoglobin-filled red blood cells. The design of the spherical nanorobot is made up of 18 billion atoms arranged as a tiny pressure tank. The tank can be filled up with oxygen and carbon dioxide, making one complete transfer point at the lungs, and the reverse transfer at the body's tissues.
Muscle fatigue results from inadequate supply of oxygen to the muscles during intense exercise, leading to inefficient anaerobic respiration. If respirocytes could increase the supply of oxygen despite exercise, it should be possible to reduce muscle fatigue, increasing a person's endurance. Because respirocytes and related technologies would, if successful, improve the user's abilities beyond normal human limits, their design is associated with the Transhumanism movement which concerns itself with such advances.
Each respirocyte could store and transport 236 times more oxygen than a natural red blood cell, and could release it in a more controlled manner. If an adult human's red blood cells were entirely replaced with these devices, that person could hold his/her breath underwater for hours, or sprint at top speed for at least 15 minutes without taking a breath.[2]
Theorist Robert Freitas has proposed respirocytes as a superior alternative to naturally occurring red blood cells, and has similarly proposed "microbivore" robots that would attack Wikipedia:pathogens in the manner of Wikipedia:white blood cells.[3]
References[edit]
- Biomedia, Eugene Thacker, page 123-133
- Future of health technology, page 56, Renata Glowacka Bushko
- Bio-inspired and nanoscale integrated computing, Mary Mehrnoosh Eshaghian-Wilner, page 397
Citations[edit]
- ↑ Biomedia, Eugene Thacker, page 129, 130
- ↑ CNN - Scientists: Humans and machines will merge in future
- ↑ Kurzweil, Ray. The Singularity Is Near, p. 254, Penguin Books USA.
