The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

by Ray Kurzweil

A particularly impressive demonstration of a nanoscale device constructed from DNA is a tiny biped robot that can walk on legs that are ten nanometers long.90 Both the legs and the walking track are built from DNA, again chosen for the molecule’s ability to attach and detach itself in a controlled manner. The nanorobot, a project of chemistry professors Nadrian Seeman and William Sherman of New York University, walks by detaching its legs from the track, moving down it, and then reattaching its legs to the track. The project is another impressive demonstration of the ability of nanoscale machines to execute precise maneuvers. An alternate method of designing nanobots is to learn from nature. Nanotechnologist Michael Simpson of Oak Ridge National Laboratory describes the possibility of exploiting bacteria “as ready-made machine[s].” Bacteria, which are natural nanobot-size objects, are able to move, swim, and pump liquids.91 Linda Turner, a scientist at the Rowland Institute at Harvard, has focused on their thread-size arms, called fimbriae, which are able to perform a wide variety of tasks, including carrying other nanoscale objects and mixing fluids. Another approach is to use only parts of bacteria. A research group headed by Viola Vogel at the University of Washington built a system using just the limbs of E. coli bacteria that was able to sort out nanoscale beads of different sizes. Since bacteria are natural nanoscale systems that can perform a wide variety of functio...