Nanobots in the brain

Most of the talk about nanobots I hear is related to manufacturing and medicinal uses.
What I would like to know is, what could they be used for inside the brain or can they operate there at all?
Examples of potential uses I have thought of are
a) destroying synaptic pathways, thus removing memories
b) providing some sort of interface to the parts of the brain we don't normally use. I'm far from an expert on the brain, but if this was possible, could these unused parts of the brain be utilised as extra space to store memories? This could be very useful when combined with nanotechs life-extending medicinal properties.
c) used to directly stimulate the brain, to create false/virtual sensations?
d) used to directly stimulate the brain, to create false/virtual emotions?
e) allow a direct human/computer interface, meaning we could interact with machines by thought alone?

I realise their are still people who say we can never achieve nanotech on such levels, but for the purpose of the discussion, lets just assume that they are achievable.

Nanobots could be used to re-wire the brain so we could think faster, and process more info simultainiously.

They could reverse the aging process, and make us immune to all sorts of brain disorders, and pathogens.

It could be used as a weapon to control the minds of millions of people(or in China's case billions of people)

It could be used as an artificial pathogen to kill off certain type of people/personaties/ethnicities.

A direct neural interface is alot closer than Nanobots are, since we already have neural chip that are being tested in primate mostly, but a couple of scientists who invented the chip tested it on themselves with amazing success.

Basically if we are gonna keep up with AI we are gonna need Nanobot technology, otherwise it could mean our extinction....

If we stick with good things that can happen, I think it would be cool if you could download information to a nanobot, then when you wake up in the morning, it is downloaded and remembered in the long-term memory.... IE: Learn French over night.... Quantum Physics in 2 hours....

Yea, nanobots can also perform the opposite of everything you specified. I think the first uses will be for the most common brain illnesses, namely, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and the other big ones. Brain trauma, bleeding, etc. etc. They will probably be used in other parts of the body first. Anyone know how far they are coming with this technology at present.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Yea, nanobots can also perform the opposite of everything you specified. I think the first uses will be for the most common brain illnesses, namely, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and the other big ones. Brain trauma, bleeding, etc. etc. They will probably be used in other parts of the body first. Anyone know how far they are coming with this technology at present.

We are quite a ways away from true Nanobots (If they are still possible because even Drexler now believes they are not..) Nasa just realeased a report on Self Replicating Systems for use in space exploration, and the conclusions they arrived at were that a totally self contained SRS system would be less complication to build than a Pentium 4 microchip.

EDIT: Here is the link to the PDF report from Nasa here

[edit on 14-6-2004 by sardion2000]

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Yea, nanobots can also perform the opposite of everything you specified. I think the first uses will be for the most common brain illnesses, namely, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and the other big ones. Brain trauma, bleeding, etc. etc. They will probably be used in other parts of the body first. Anyone know how far they are coming with this technology at present.

We are probably still decades away from popular commercial use at least, but if some reasonably small private Israeli institutions can create one, think what could be possible with strong government funding.

i always look down on the nanotech. the problems seriously outweight the advantage

Its all a pipe dream anyways they will be untold years before they get the things up to a useful standard. But we can only dream hey it would be nice to get a injection of the little bugger to fix the old brain box.

reply to post by dwh0


I don't think nanobots in the brain are a pipe dream at all. I know for a fact I have some number of them in my body and that neighbours can actually read my thoughts in real time. I have searched and searched for the website but for some reason cannot find it. I would love to know if anybody has any ideas on how to shut the nanobots down or remove them from the body somehow. I don't blame anybody for thinking I'm insane, by the way. Any tips would be greatly appreciated on how to get rid of them.

I think nanobots will be the cure to everything once they are fully ready for use. Added to the bloodstream and the brain, they could be programmed to destroy whatever. They could even take over white blood cells, because they are not perfect ( for example, for women the immune system kill sperm, which can make it hard to get pregnant).

You guys need to watch the Transcendent Man. They talk a lot about cyborg technology and how it will "help" us keep up with society.

Check out the trailer here: www.youtube.com...

I don't know. This stuff kinda creeps me out. If nanobot technology could make your brain think faster, etc like a computer, could somebody not also use that technology to brainwash and control people. Kind of like rewiring their brain like a computer?

Nanobots could be cool but we have no idea how the brain works to begin with some say its the gray mater and some evidence points to the white mater. Then what happens when the nanobot runs out of juice will it settle in the brain causing health concerns do to the metals or compounds its made of or irritation that could lead to inflamation / infection. There are so many health issue's that could be fix with nanobots but there are also concerns that could arise from them too. One never knows till the test are ran then monitored for years after the fact. Look at aspesto's worked wonders for insulation but nobody knew 15-30 years after being exposed it would cause cancer.

Does anybody have any ideas on how to destroy such a nanobot infection if one was to be infected? I read that MMS might help but have also read that stabilized oxygen pills/supplements are next to useless. Could really use some ideas if anyone has any.

Originally posted by wolfger
Does anybody have any ideas on how to destroy such a nanobot infection if one was to be infected? I read that MMS might help but have also read that stabilized oxygen pills/supplements are next to useless. Could really use some ideas if anyone has any.

Depends what the nano's are made out of. Heck they could be made out of carbon. And they might just be organic based to add to the confusion. For the stereotypical electronic based nanos I would think an EMP field.

BTW nano-terrorism= Zombie Outbreak. With nano technology a zombie like outbreak is not only possible but an eventuality. Imagine errors with peoples AI nano matrix that causes them to become more agitated and lethargy. Then they have a stroke or heart attack at which point their neo-cortex dies and all that is left is the nanos and the cerebellum. Or heck just nano's. Could easily spread via bites, saliva and what not...