Terrorism has become pervasive nowadays; many terrorists roam around the globe viciously harming many people. As of many years ago, terrorism has taken many creative forms. I found one that stood out; it is what is now as bio-terrorism. Bioterrorism is a very broad term which touches upon the basic fundamental facts of acts terrorism with biology. But in this webpage, I will mainly focus on the Nono-robots (a small part of bioterrorism). I will do so as a form of raising awareness, since this issue not only violates the principles of ethics, but might also become of huge risk in the future keeping in mind the shift towards technological advantage.
Unaware of its implications, scientists and doctors created a nanobot that is injected into the blood stream which transfers information about the carrier's health wirelessly. But terrorist groups would able to intercede with these wireless interactions through hacking the bots device wirelessly. This granted them control over a person's health, thus it is called bio terrorism.
Basically, the idea of creating the nanobots started in 2009, and was worked on and devoted until 2015 in which its idea was released to the whole world. It was said that researchers working at the University of California, San Diego have stated that they were pioneers and the first to create microscopic mechanical robots that can travel in a humans bloodstream and "deliver their medicinal load without any detrimental effects" (Dr. Collin Jeffrey).
Shape? Size? Basic Facts (How it works)?
tubular, about 20 micrometers long, 5 micrometers in diameter, and coated in zinc. Achieving velocities of up to 60 micrometers for every second, the nanobots went stomach lining where they at that point inserted themselves, broke down, and provided (or delivered) a nanoparticle compound directly into the gut tissue.
As per the scientists, of all the nanobots conveyed in the stomach of the mouse, those (nanobots) that achieved the stomach dividers stayed connected to the lining for an entire 12 hours after ingestion, along these lines demonstrating their adequacy and vigorous nature.
Furthermore, after some time the mouse was euthanized and the stomach was dissected, examined, and analyzed; the nanobots showed no indictions of any increased toxicity levels or any damage in any tissues. As indicated by the scientists this was in accordance with their desires, especially given that zinc is adequately likewise a multipurpose supplement.
nanobots could be injected into the bloodstream to help cells fight harmful microorganisms and cancer cells when the immune system isn't working properly.
deliver drugs to specific locations in the body could be more effective than consuming pharmaceutical drugs or injecting drugs into the body.
Nanomachines could be equipped with DNA or certain healing chemicals to heal damaged cells and tissues.
Will the pros overweigh the cons?
Nanotechnology has many great potential but in the wrong hands it could be weaponized to destroy the human body. In addition, relying too much on nanotechnology can weaken the body's natural defense systems, making the body dependent on nanotechnology to survive. Moreover, it connects wirelessly to a phone thus making it susceptible to any hacker attacks, which in turn usurps the power from the patient to a possibly terrorist group bestowing more power and control over the those same terrorists.
What ethical implications does this bring?
Even though this has not been implemented 100% in the world, the shift towards technological advancements indicate that those nanobots will become pervasive in the future. But with the redoubtable possible repercussions (cons) caused by those bots, it is clear to say that their promotion would delineate unethical manners. For ethics resonates around a certain set of principles –the principle of autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence, as well as justice. Yet this technology threatens the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence, in which case they do bring good, but at the same time do cause harm; since they have alarming cons.
Therefore, I personally believe that even something is important for technological advancements, it should not be implemented in cases such as the one mentioned above. This is due to the fact that nanobots due promote the unethical issue of bioterrorism, and are possibly a way for terrorists to reach the entire world with one click– literally.
This is an entirely new concept for me, and I'm really glad I read about it because it is really intriguing and a little scary, too. I think it was really great that throughout your presentation you gave really clear definitions and examples because not many people understand the complexity of this technology. Furthermore, I also appreciate that your own opinion was highlighted so it was clear to readers how to differentiate between fact and opinion. This is a really creative, interesting topic and I look forward to finding out more about it.
Interesting webpage on bioterrorism. I think you had some issues with spelling, but your ideas and research were amazing. What were the nanobots picking up in the video? It looked like they were sucking something up off the blood vessel wall? Great job with your presentation; it was very interesting and informative.
This is something that I had heard about, but never really understood. You did a very good job of laying out the information in an easily accessible, as well as engaging way. I liked that you first had a pro and con section, so that the audience got to see both sides, and then stated your personal opinion. I thought that you managed to hit a very nice balance between opinion and fact based evidence.
Wow! I've never heard of this technology before, so it's great that you're raising awareness of it! I love how engaging your project is with the video, survey, and question. It's also interesting that you add "I ALSO TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE ABOUT RATHER OBSCURE AND UNKNOWN ISSUES THAT MY THREATEN US IN THE FUTURE! 🙂" at the end of your project… It's a good way to show why you chose this topic and how it can impact people. Great job!
Bioterrorism is such an interesting topic — I didn't know about nanobots before this! How can we prevent this from getting in the hands of terrorists in the future. Like you mentioned, this is likely going to be a pervasive technology (and someone will likely develop it eventually).
I have heard of these nano-robots, and they were always talked about in a positive, healing context. This made me realize that they could be used for harm, but what can't? I feel that for many new things, people who really want to can turn things into something bad. Many things that are invented are invented with good intentions, but there are also people who seek to turn these things into something bad. Every time something advances, especially technology, terrorists will want to get their hands on it.
Hey Jalil! This is such a cool topic that I have never heard of before! It is so interesting that something that was created for the purpose of helping and healing the body can do a complete 180 and, in the wrong hands, can sabotage it instead. I realized after reading your page and doing some of my own research that the increase and advancement of nanobots are inevitable in this fastly growing technological world and so, what do you believe is the best way to monitor nanobots to ensure they don't fall into the wrong hands?
You're project is very interesting and has a lot well researched points. I am actually so interested in the content this included. Your graphics and your page was also very engaging. Good job! I have heard a lot about terrorism but i did not know that this existed. The nano robots could potentially cause more harm than help I believe if the scientists dont find a way to stop the terrorist attacks on them.