Microbot controls swarm of bacteria, puts all flea circuses to shame
By Ross Miller 
posted May 17th 2009 4:42PM
posted May 17th 2009 4:42PM
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Shit. We're all doomed.
We are the BORG. Resistance is futile!
We will add your biological and technological(iPhone & MS surface) distinctiveness to our own.
ALL YOUR BLOGS ARE BELONG TO US!
I thought the title said "Microsoft" for some reason
same here
Me too, what the hell?
You mean it didn't?
Let me scroll up and check...
Oh...!
wtf? I thought it said Microsoft too until I read your comment. Nice catch ;)
Same here, it was scary for a few seconds until I realised the truth.
Same here.
It might have something to do with the words "controls" and "shame" that are there too. And maybe somehow swarm.... sworm.... "worm".
Is this what too much engadget does to our brains?
Me too.. =/
I was expecting blue, red yellow and green bacteria crawling around in the shape of squares.
Swam = Swarm?
I, for one welcome our new microbot overlords.
t'was inventiable
...and directly these invaders arrived, directly they drank and fed, our microscopic allies began to work their overthro- oh wait, never mind.
Forgive my bad placement of my , .
Thought it said Microsoft as well. Brainwashed.
Can it control viruses?
I'd doubt it, those bacteria are flagellated so they can control their movement, viruses generally drift wherever water/air currents take them.
given that viruses are as small vs a bacterium as a bacterium is vs a typical animal cell, or as small as pea is compared to the size of a lorry (for example), I highly doubt it. I doubt it's a targeted end goal of this research imho...
*Movie Theater Voice* "In the year 2018... Skynet has formed an alliance with bacteria..."
Don't the ppl at engadget proof read their posts? What the heck is a Swam?
What the hell is a 'heck'?
What the hell is a Wwhat?
Don't make fun of my stammer bastard
:P
:P
P:
IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT!!!
and I feel fine!
a step closer for a cure for my cancer.
"We have a cancer cell here, SEND IN ZE BACTERIA!"
I love reading videos...
Dial "M" for Microbot
Gives a whole new meaning to a computer bug.
Now, let's get serious for a second. A device like this could have quite a military application, infecting people with bacteria guided by nanobots. Imagine if the nanobot taught bacteria how to avoid antibiotics during a war-induced infestation.
Now before you think I'm nuts, go read "The Singularity is Near," by Ray Kurzweil. He wrote all about the use of nanobots in war.
This both fascinates and scares the bejesits out of me.
To be honest, the bacteria could probably do it better themselves anyway. There's no point in trying to avoid antibiotics when you can just engineer them to be resistant in the first place, plus you'd have the problem of getting the 'bot into the victim. Completely ignoring the problem of trying to physically avoid antibiotics when they're saturating the tissue and fluids of the host.
Pathogenic bacteria have evolved a lot of clever mechanisms for the sole purpose of causing disease, I doubt there's much a microbot could show them they either can't do better themselves or they couldn't do without.
...but they arent intelligent...
...giving specifically purposed bots the advantage...
Because someone wrote about it you are automatically not nuts? I never knew that, but it explains a lot of the history since bookprint was invented, if that's the general view that is.
Incidentally, viruses use Ph levels to fold their outer shell's molecules to get into cells, so this might theoretically be developed in a viruscatcher like the old sticky fly paper in microformat, and that's a more positive idea than 'lets' use it to kill people, there's such a thing as being TOO typical american you know :)
I dono about Kurzweil's fiction, but he made a hell of a synthesizer.
:P
big ray k approves of this message
Funny that your views are a perfect warning that it won't be interesting to visit your blog which you link to after exposing them.
my views...huh?..what are you talking about?
Good comeback, I'm not kidding either since I'm taking your statement as an intelligent joke :)
lol...I really have no idea what your talking about..
I, on the other hand, am going to interpret it as the rantings of the moronic.
The only thing I can say about this is read the book "Prey"
Ecole vs. E. Coli?
Hah, nice one, since it fits.
Too cool. What is the time scale involved?
It is Microrobot, not microbot.