A team of scientists have successfully created the first biohybrid being using 3D printing and genetic engineering. The creature, which is designed to look like a tiny stingray, has a golden skeletal system and living rat heart cells giving it the ability to move on its own.
While they ultimately hope to use this kind of technology to design nanobots that can live inside of you, serving as an extra layer of protection from harmful viruses and diseases (like that’s not creepy enough), I can’t help but be reminded of all of the doomsday scenarios that this could bring.
A look in the news today will bring up a number of these kinds of stories. From growing armies of drones to using robots to kill criminals, we already live in a time when technology is being used in ways people could have only dreamed of in recent years.
Dallas police used a robot to deliver bomb that killed shooting suspecthttps://t.co/an0wAyXWoj
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 8, 2016
Even the immensely popular Pokémon Go smartphone app is using a form of tech, augmented reality, that would’ve been unheard of even ten years ago. And we all know the problems that is causing.
So the ability for scientists to grow artificial and yet somehow living creatures definitely raises a few red flags. I mean, haven’t these people taken heed from stories of The Matrix, Terminator, or iRobot?
So yes, this is a major scientific breakthrough and kudos to these scientists for accomplishing it. All I ask is that they proceed with a little bit of caution before Skynet takes over.
