H
-f-
_F
Li
Shan
NANOTECHNOLOGY
ON
HUMAN LIFE: FOR BETTER
OR
FOR WORSE
"Nanotechnology" was coined
by
Drexler,
a
Research Fellow
of
the pres-
tigious MlT, and who wrote the
book,
"Engines
of Creation:
the Coming
Era
of Nanotechnology" in 1986. A nanom-
eter
is
1
billionth
of a meter. He
believed
that, man-made, self-replicating
ultra-
small machines (nanobots) would
even-
tually
be
leasible
and function
just
like
the
human body's proteins and
en-
zymes
that
are
essential
for various
metabolisms and even make proteins
for various cells, including
copies of
themselves. Nanobots could zap can-
cer cells or
chew
up
pollution...
However, as at
the
"nano" scale, tradi-
tional
physics laws shatter,
all
these
postulations are still
in
the "science fic-
tion"
stage, yet, workers are already
worrying about nanobots
becoming
self-replicating "monsters" destroying
the earth.
The
real
worry
is
that
"nano"
has become
a
gimmick
for
money-
spinning. Currently, realistic
"nano"
products are transparent sunscreens
made with tiny zinc particles; tiny teflon
bits water-proving clothes;
a
blood
test
being
made
from tiny
dots ot silver at-
tached
to a
neurotoxin
believed to
cause
Alzheimer's disease (causing pre-senile
dementia).The
ETC (Erosion, Technol-
ogy
and Concentration) Group
of
Canada
that
is
devoted
to
social
advocacy,
calls for a cessation
on
nanotechnology, as
ultra{ine
particles
may
well
overcome
the body's classic
defense
mechanisms,
causing
an
unprecedented "curse". Obviously,
the
"fight" between various authorities has
just
begun as far as nonotechnology is
concerned.
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