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Another advantage to using diatoms, Rorrer said, is that when the algae divide, they make a perfect copy of themselves, meaning "we can make a gazillion of these, and they are all the same."

Whose to say that they will not become self aware and act together as one. I would compare them to an ant colony, all striving as one entity.

I watched a show on the Discovery channel about just such a possibility. If nano technology is perfected it could raise a building, and by the same standard, deconstruct said building.

I don't think we're ready to handle such a thing.

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Whose = Who's

[Jet Jaguar]

This was a subject of a Star Trek TNG episode. The Nanites develope self awareness and take over the ship IIRC.

[geopyg]

"Whose to say that they will not become self aware and act together as one."

That - and they "eat carbon dioxide - a global warming gas".

Let's hope they don't get the idea of "I know how we can solve global warming" and decide to cover the planet!

My alma mater developed a nano pump - it can flow with the blood through a person's veins. I forget exactly what it was used for - either to sample or to give small amounts of a drug to a specific area.

Pretty amazing stuff.