New Biological Robots Build Themselves

SPACE.com ^ | September 28, 2005 | Ker Than

[AntiGuv]

grey goo!

[AntiGuv]

FutureTechPing!

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[Red Badger]

Been there done that!......

[manwiththehands]

Grey goo is right. Chricton's book "Prey" is good but it could have been a lot better. It's worth reading if you want a brief explanation of how this technology can be created, and how it could run amok.

[ClearCase_guy]

To artificially recreate this process, a research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), headed by Joseph Jacobson, created robots capable of latching onto one another in specific sequences.

Figures its MIT. Those guys are bright. You really have to be Intelligent to Design something like this. I mean, it wouldn't just pop into existence through random acts in the laboratory, you know?

[camle]

i'm somehow reminded of the broom and the sorcerer's apprentice.

[Nathan Zachary]

LoL! I can see where this thread is heading. I'm glad the guys at MIT made intelligent design a little easier for some people to grasp.

[OSHA]

Main Entry: sub·tle·ty
Pronunciation: 's&-t&l-tE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English sutilte, from Middle French sutilté, from Latin subtilitat-, subtilitas, from subtilis
1 : the quality or state of being subtle
2 : something subtle

[Joe Brower]

[Rebelbase]

Another key component of Skynet.

[GreenLanternCorps]

No, more like Cylons...

[Sthitch]

If you read this closely you will see that there is nothing in common with what is known as "Grey Goo". All they have done is develop nano-machines that can create other nano-machines out of other nano-machines. The theory behind "Grey Goo" is that a machine can create a replica of itself by using raw materials available in the environment. That is not what happened at MIT.

[George from New England]

We need to be sure that the Calif Governor cannot become president. He has ties to skynet.

[AntiGuv]

I know, but it's a step along the way!

[NaughtiusMaximus]

When can I get one that can do the housework? (Oh yes, and fetch me a beer.)

[Sthitch]

No, not really. This has little or nothing to do with true replication. This is simply self assembly. The individual devices need to have the components manufactured for them before they can assemble. Last year I read a well done article that debunks the whole "Grey Goo" theory, if I can find the link again I will reply with it.

[AntiGuv]

Please do if you find it; I'd be very interested to read it.

[Sthitch]

OK, here it is: Link

It is short, but very informative.

[theFIRMbss]

>grey goo!

[metmom]

I mean, it wouldn't just pop into existence through random acts in the laboratory, you know?


Gee, why not? Statistically speaking... oh wait. It's only living things that it happens to. Non living things don't just happen in nature. Riiiiight.