NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: My nation has near-future tech (in the year 2059)

The microgravity labs of the private R&D company Celestia Cyberworks released their final prototype of an artificial nerve cell today. It is designed to work as part of a biological neural network, providing a possibility to replace lost tissue in human patients. The cells come in three varieties:

1. Prosthetic. They are the closest thing resembling a human cell in the sense that they are powered by the same processes and they transmit impulses via sodium-potassium reactions.

2. Semi-optic. These have both chemical and optical receptors. They are powered either by nutrients in the bloodstream or by electricity from a portable source.

3. Optic. These work by transmitting impulses through nanofibre strands that grow like dendrites in biological nerve cells. They are powered by electricity and cannot work with human cells without intervening semi-optic cells. The main benefit in them is that the optical impulses are thousands of times faster than chemical ones.

In addition to helping stroke, cancer an paralysis patients, there are potential applications in AI development as well. The Colonial government has already assigned a team to update the EyeDee system's processing units with prototypes of the new circuitry. This will be the first practical trial of the new technology, and skeptics expect numerous service failures.
Chairman Akagi, however, reassures the public. "We have to see the potential benefits of this new technology. If no-one has the courage to implement it, it'll never develop. Sure, there will be growth pains, but I believe it will do our society good in the long run."

what does this artifical nerve cell use for energy? Proteins?

The prosthetic variety uses glucose like biological ones do. To power the optic cells, one would need to carry an electric power source. Since this is uncomfortable for most people, most of the optic cells' applications will likely be in the field of personal computers.

how about Neurotransmitters? If you had a headache, would you take an advil or a controlled computer virus? :P

The prosthetic variant responds to those, but the second and third would just need to be debugged by a doctor. In short, if you want a fully optic brain, be prepared to tolerate the headaches since there's nothing we can do about them.

We have something along thse lines as well.

Though we are much further ahead in technology, we use a technology similar to that which you might find on a Borg drone. A relatively low count of nanoscopic robots inside a host's bloodstream does several things, including enhancement of thought processes, advanced immune systems, circulatory systems, and healing processes. In a person's brain, these work well to repare damaged tissue, and enhance memory by stimulating memory banks in the brain with accurate detail.

In short, with this technology, you could remember something that happend 12 years ago as if it happened 12 minutes ago.

This also improves dexterity, endurance, muscules, and last of all gives a sort of "telepathic" link to compatable technology (like special Space fighters or mecha) and other nanite-enhanced beings.

Note however, this is not anything nearly as extreme as Borg Tech, and rarely does anything manifest externally, outside of the occasional artificial scab or bandage :)

http://www.bateshome.com/jordan/ccsig.jpg (http://www.bateshome.com/jordan/ccdex.htm)

We have something along thse lines as well.

Though we are much further ahead in technology...

OOC: Then it'll have to be OOC for you since this is relevant to late-modern and near-future nations only. I'm more for hard sci-fi, and this is about as fantastic as it gets.