Respirocyte
Encyclopedia
Respirocytes are hypothetical, microscopic, artificial red blood cell
Red blood cell
Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

s that can emulate the function of its organic counterpart, only with 200 times the efficiency, so as to supplement or replace the function of much of the human body's normal respiratory system
Respiratory system
The respiratory system is the anatomical system of an organism that introduces respiratory gases to the interior and performs gas exchange. In humans and other mammals, the anatomical features of the respiratory system include airways, lungs, and the respiratory muscles...

. Still entirely theoretical, respirocytes would measure 1 micrometer in diameter. In the original paper by Robert Freitas it was proposed that respirocytes would mimic the action of the natural hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...

-filled red blood cells. The proposed design of the spherical nanorobot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

 is made up of 18 billion atoms arranged as a tiny pressure tank, which would be filled up with oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 and carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

, making one complete transfer point at the lungs, and the reverse transfer at the body's tissues.

Structure

A respirocyte exchanges gases via molecular sorting rotors, which have specially shaped tips to catch particular types of molecules. Each respirocyte consists of three types of rotors:
  • Rotors to gather oxygen from the lungs and releases it in the bloodstream.
  • Rotors to gather carbon dioxide from the bloodstream and release it in the lungs.
  • Rotors to take in glucose from the bloodstream for generating energy in a process similar to cellular respiration

Uses

Per proposals, each respirocyte could store and transport 236 times more oxygen than a natural red blood cell, and could release it in a more controlled manner. If an adult human's red blood cells were entirely replaced with these devices, that person could hold his/her breath underwater for hours, or sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

 at top speed for at least 15 minutes without taking a breath.

Muscle fatigue
Muscle fatigue
Muscle fatigue is the decline in ability of a muscle to generate force. It can be a result of vigorous exercise but abnormal fatigue may be caused by barriers to or interference with the different stages of muscle contraction...

 results from inadequate supply of oxygen to the muscles during intense exercise, leading to inefficient anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration is a form of respiration using electron acceptors other than oxygen. Although oxygen is not used as the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain; it is respiration without oxygen...

. If respirocytes could increase the supply of oxygen despite exercise, it should be possible to reduce muscle fatigue, increasing a person's endurance
Endurance
Endurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...

.

Theorist Robert Freitas
Robert Freitas
Robert A. Freitas Jr. is a Senior Research Fellow, one of four researchers at the nonprofit foundation Institute for Molecular Manufacturing in Palo Alto, California. He holds a 1974 Bachelor's degree majoring in both physics and psychology from Harvey Mudd College, and a 1978 Juris Doctor degree...

 has proposed respirocytes as a superior alternative to naturally occurring red blood cells, and has similarly proposed "microbivore" robots that would attack pathogens in the manner of white blood cells.

Development

By definition, respirocytes qualify as molecular nanotechnology
Molecular nanotechnology
Molecular nanotechnology is a technology based on the ability to build structures to complex, atomic specifications by means of mechanosynthesis. This is distinct from nanoscale materials...

, a field of technology still in the very earliest, purely theoretical phases of development. Current technology could not build a respirocyte due to considerations of power, immune reaction or toxicity
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...

, computation
Computation
Computation is defined as any type of calculation. Also defined as use of computer technology in Information processing.Computation is a process following a well-defined model understood and expressed in an algorithm, protocol, network topology, etc...

 and communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

.

Because respirocytes and related technologies would, if successful, improve the user's abilities beyond normal human limits, their design is associated with the Transhumanism
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...

movement which seeks such advances.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK