One of the most important applications
of MNT would be medical nanorobotics or nanomedicine, an area pioneered by Robert Freitas in numerous books[12] and papers.[13] The ability
to design, build, and deploy large numbers of medical nanorobots would, at an optimum, make possible the rapid
elimination of disease and the reliable and relatively painless recovery from
physical trauma. Medical nanorobots
might also make possible the convenient correction of genetic defects, and help
to ensure a greatly expanded healthspan. More
controversially, medical nanorobots
might be used to augment natural human capabilities. However, mechanical
medical nanodevices would not be allowed (or designed) to self-replicate inside the human
body, nor would medical nanorobots
have any need for self-replication
themselves[14] since they would be manufactured exclusively in carefully
regulated nanofactories.
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