Jim Roth’s Website

English 102

Mini-research paper 1

Biotechnology: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In recent years we have heard of Nanobots and Biotechnology but to most of us those are just words that seem like they belong in Star Trek episodes. First of all, what is Nano? “The prefix ‘nano’ comes from the Greek word for dwarf. Nano represents one billionth and so one nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. That's about the size of one strand of the width of your hair split into about 50,000 pieces! It's also about the size of ten hydrogen atoms. Things on the nanoscale are generally between 1 and 100 nanometers. Proteins in our bodies, viruses, and some particles in the air are nanosized” ("Nanotechnology." Experiment Central: Understanding Scientific Principles Through Projects). Now that we have a mental picture of just how small is a nanobot is, let us look into the possible uses that could potentially come out of this molecular marvel.

Cancer research is stepping into a new frontier with nanotechnology. Scientists are working on creating Nanobots that are capable of locating, singling out, and destroying cancer causing cells without the use of harmful chemotherapy. Chemotherapy radiates not only the cancer cells but also the healthy cells surrounding the cancerous cells, killing everything good and bad “Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to normal cells as well as cancer cells. A dose that will destroy cancer cells will probably cause damage to some normal cells.” (Rizzo, Toni, and Teresa G. Odle). Nanobots will be programmed to locate the cancerous cells and destroy them with little to no harm to the healthy surrounding cells “One of the first applications of medical nanotechnology involves a device that can target and destroy cancer cells.” (Hook, C. Christopher). The Kalvi foundation and Cheryl Scott wrote in Bioprocess International:

Nanotherapeutics are large enough that kidneys don’t rapidly eliminate them, but they’re small enough to penetrate the leaky blood vessels that feed tumors (and thus transfer into tumor tissue). The ability of these drugs to reach their targets so selectively and efficiently would enable physicians to use smaller doses that are less toxic. And because they can enter cells, nanoparticles can be useful carriers for drugs that operate within cells, such as those intended to block the faulty genetic messages that fuel cancer growth.

Nanotheraputics gives us hope that one day we will be able to fight cancer as easily as the seasonal flu.

Scientists are developing Nanobots that will be programmed to locate deadly bacteria and viruses and destroy them with no harm to the human. Once the nanobot has completed its task, it is programmed to deactivate and will be expelled out of the body via the urinary system. “Robert Freitas, for example, has designed robotic replacements for human blood cells that perform thousands of times more effectively than their biological counterparts. His ‘respirocytes’ (robotic red blood cells) could allow one to sprint for fifteen minutes without taking a breath” (Kurzweil, Ray). There are many wonderful uses for nanotechnology, but how about the evils of this technology. Every new invention that has ever been created has the capability of being used for good, for building, and for giving life; unfortunately, if placed in the wrong hands, has the equal capabilities of being used for evil, for destruction, and for death. Nanotechnology is by no means exempt from the same fate as every other invention meant for good. The question begs to be asked; what is the good, the bad, and the ugly of Nanotechnology?

There are many good implementations of nanotechnology as previously stated, but when does it become bad? Who sets the ethical and moral code for something that has not fully left the ground and is in the early stages of research and development? People have a fear for computers taking over and controlling humanity. Movies have been made where computer controlled robots take over and rule the world. There are controversies regarding nanotechnology, “Any device that can operate on the subcellular level, however, can just as easily be designed to destroy as to repair or heal. In fact, it will be far easier to develop devices that kill.” (Hook, C. Christopher). At the emergence of nanotechnology there came an idea of grey goo. “The possibility that nanoscaled robots (nanobots) originally designed for specific manufacturing processes might make copies of themselves, atom by atom, then replicate endlessly and consume large areas of matter, even the world.” (Berne, Rosalyn W.). Nonprofit companies like Foresight Institute are looking into regulations of nanotechnology. In a Foresight Institute article, Neil Jacobstein wrote:

While a 100% effective ban could, in theory, avoid the potential risks of certain forms of molecular nanotechnology, a 99.99% effective ban could result in development and deployment by the 0.01% that evaded and ignored the ban. For example, the international Biological Weapons Treaty was being violated on a massive scale even before the ink was dry.

Regulating something that is not visible is arduous. Unregulated research and development of nanotechnology could have a detrimental effect worldwide.

Research and development of nanotechnology is at a slow pace due to technophobia. Nanotechnology has enormous potential to heal and make life easier on earth. How can society be more educated about the future emergence of nanotechnology? “The European Union has developed and refined the precautionary principle over a number of years. This model rests on the premise that society needs to ‘learn and act,’ in contrast to the United States approach to new technologies, which is more to ‘act and then learn’” (Goldman, Lynn). Society needs to be taught about the benefits of nanotechnology from credible sources and not from watching “Spiderman II or Agent Cody Banks” (Goldman, Lynn). As a society we shoot first and ask questions later. Whether we like it or not, the research and development will continue and one day the advancement of science will create the invisible molecular marvel and it will be looking us straight in the face, but by learning about the benefits and negatives ourselves we can make the decision of what end of the technology we are at. Will we be the victims when a terror group uses the technology against humanity or will we be the educated citizens who will use it for good? The question that we must ask is; “Are we willing to learn and then act?”

Whether fighting cancer or a rare blood disease, the conventional scalpel and chemotherapy will be obsolete. It is time to put our fears aside and see what greatness can come out of nanotechnology. Having a cancer free and healthy society will no longer solely exist in science fiction futuristic films or novels it can be reality and in this generation. Grasping the good and weeding out the bad and the ugly is an incredible feat to accomplish simply because it has never been done before. Everything that has ever been intended for good has been used for evil as well; maybe with this new technology we can truly make it a life saver. Keeping it out of the hands of those who are anxious to cause harm is our responsibility and can be accomplished. There are many good, bad, and ugly aspects to this new technology. It is up to you to decide where is the good, the bad, and the ugly.