Genetic engineering and computing, with nanotechnology, have a brilliant future.

"Researchers at the University of Galway have created APOLLO, the world’s largest collection of digital microbe models—247,092 in total—to revolutionize our understanding of the human microbiome and its role in health. This unprecedented database will enable scientists to study how microbes interact with the body, accelerating discoveries in diagnostics, treatments, and precision healthcare. Credit: University of Galway" (ScitechDaily, Meet APOLLO: Researchers Create World’s Largest Digital Microbe Collection)

The next-generation nanotechnology. Genetic engineering is an interesting, promising, and frightening tool. Genetic engineering means that researchers can manipulate the cell's genomes. They can transform one cell into another one. They can create multiple copies of the cells. And the highly advanced nanotechnology makes it possible to create DNA by using digitally stored information. 

If the genetic data is stored in the digital archives. Like a computer's hard disk that makes deadly viruses safer. The highly advanced simulations are tools that allow us to test chemicals and their influence on cells and viruses that can be dangerous. The knowledge of the information that the DNA involves and the points where certain data is stored helps to create simulations or digital twins for the viruses and bacteria. Those things can make it possible to create things like sonic waves that can destroy only infected cells.  

"A study reveals that the fungus Beauveria bassiana manipulates fruit flies’ immune systems to kill brain cells, causing neurodegeneration, highlighting how fungal infections could, in principle, affect the human brain." (ScitechDaily, This Deadly Fungus “Hacks” the Immune System, Causing the Brain To Self-Destruct)

The ability to hack the immune system makes it possible to create medicals that will not activate the immune system. Same way organ transplants can survive better if the tissue itself orders the immune cells to stay off that tissue. That makes it possible to remove the immune suppression medicines. But those technologies are under research. The ability to create tissue or organs that can suppress the immune system only on that tissue or organ could be a breakthrough. 

The deadly parasite fungus is the thing that can reorder the cells to die. That effect is seen in the banana flies. There is the possibility to create genetically engineered fungus that travels to the cancer cells. Then the fungus can destroy the targeted cells. This kind of fungus can also make many other medicines unnecessary, but the problem is that those funguses can also offer the worst biological weapons that we can imagine. 

That fungus can cause gangrenes. Also in the human body.  But if the researchers can manipulate that fungus. It infects only the cancer or bacteria tissues that can make new types of medical treatment possible. In some scenarios, the worms can be manipulated to make the clones of the human cells. And those cells can be used to fix tissue damage. 

But there is an interesting scenario about devices that can regenerate the body. Is quite easy to create the DNA bite that can cause cells to divide. The problem is that the DNA in the cells must be renewed. That thing is easy to make for individual cells. But the problem is that there are lots of cells in the human body. The system must remove and replace the DNA from the cell's nucleus. Then it must replace the old mitochondria using fresh ones. 

If that kind of thing is possible for a large number of cells, there is the possibility that the fresh cells order the old ones to die. The genetically engineered fungus can make that thing possible. The problem in tissue renewal and fixing damages in the body include similar problems. There must be cells or nutrients for fast-dividing cells. 

The genetically engineered fungus can spray those cells into the right positions in the body. The fungus can involve genetic detectors that make it possible to create different types of cells. The problem is how to make enough cells that can fit precisely in the right places in the body. If that thing is possible that kind of technology will allow to creation of systems that can fix even large damages to the human body. And the same systems can increase our lifetime. 

 https://bigthink.com/health/the-quest-for-a-communication-device-that-tells-cells-to-regenerate-the-body/

 https://scitechdaily.com/meet-apollo-researchers-create-worlds-largest-digital-microbe-collection/

 https://scitechdaily.com/this-deadly-fungus-hacks-the-immune-system-causing-the-brain-to-self-destruct/

Body snatchers and werewolves.

Can bears be the creatures behind the werewolf myth? 

Werewolves are mythic creatures. They are humans that turn into wolves in the full moon. There is suspicion that behind the werewolf stories is some kind of serial killer. When those stories are told the mental disorders were not well-known things. Those things like mental disturbing, sociopathy, and other kinds of things were curses, made by witches. In some cases, the Bear can be behind the werewolf stories. 

Bear who rises to its back feet are terrifying and dangerous animals. And when we think about the modern horror stories that involve things like vampires. We can conclude that vampire or modern vampire stories are formed in theatre because actors are easier to portray civilized vampires than madly screaming werewolves. 

But in modern versions. The thing that makes the vampires and werewolves viruses can turn the human or animal into another one. Cosmologists and astrobiologists made models of creatures that can change their shape. That creature requires the double-stranded DNA. And the thing that can turn the cell to read another strand. 

"The new fungus Gibellula attenboroughii on the orb-weaving cave spider. Credit: CABI" (ScitechDaily, Not Science Fiction: Scientists Discover Mysterious “Zombie” Fungus Infecting Spiders in Ireland’s Caves)

The fungi that transform spiders into zombies are not sci-fi anymore. 

Researchers found fungi in Ireland that turn spiders into zombies. This is not the first time that fungi have turned animals, like ants or snails, into zombies. They will not behave normally. There is a fungus. That makes ants travel to the top of the hay so that birds and other predators can find it. That helps fungi spread. 

The fungi that turn animals into zombies are not new. But the new thing is that this kind of fungi is found in Europe. There are many sci-fi movies. That tells about alien organisms. That can turn humans into zombies. The Zombie Apocalypse and Resident Evil are the most well-known cases of those horror movies. 

There are also horror stories of the body-snatching aliens. Maybe, the origin of those stories was in images from Ancient Egypt where pharao used psychedelic fungi. That transformed into stories of the body-snatching aliens. The body snatchers can be like neuron-fungi hybrids that tie their axons around victims' nervous systems. And then it starts to give orders to its victim. 

The thing is that there is quite a small fish in the sea that creates poison called tetrodotoxin. That poison makes a person into a zombie that makes everything that master says. Tetrodotoxin removes the brain filter. There is the possibility that the genetically engineered fungi can also create tetradotoxin. But can the body-snatcher alien be true? It's possible to create alien organisms in the laboratory. There is research or theoretical models of the hybrid cells where fungus and neurons are connected. This thing is a fascinating idea for horror movies. 

And then back to the real world. 

Those things are researched for some other reasons. The ability to take the human nervous system under control makes it possible to exchange information with it. That ability can be useful in cases of large-scale brain damage. The cloned neurons can replace the physical damage. But then the data that those cells include is gone. 

That makes makes those fungi interesting. That thing can be used to transmit data to the cloned brain tissues. The lost information includes the data about the routes. How the neuron must transport data into the precise right position. 

https://scitechdaily.com/dont-miss-mars-and-the-wolf-moon-align-in-epic-sky-spectacle/

https://scitechdaily.com/not-science-fiction-scientists-discover-mysterious-zombie-fungus-infecting-spiders-in-irelands-caves/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraodontidae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrodotoxin

The bio structures and advanced organic technology

The bio structures and advanced organic technology

Those things are the ideas, what the futurologists have created when they have created an idea of the use of organic material in the space technology. Sometimes people have thought that could it possible to use organisms as diatoms for creating the materials, what can repair themselves. The diatoms are organisms, what outer layer is created by silicone and if we are thinking about the forms of those organisms, they could sometimes be like Lego-bricks, which can put easily to their places.

In this case, the nanotechnology would help the structure forming itself. In this scenario, the spider-shaped robots would create the net, and then other robots would put the diatoms in their places, and that thing would close the damage. This kind of thing is only one version of the bio structures, which is planned to use in the structures from the deepest points from the sea to space.

What if the planks can grow autonomously over the damage?

The idea of using the genetically engineered bio material fro creating the structures is simple, create the cells, what are creating layers, and those cells can be taken from the trees. The idea is that manipulated cells would form the material like a plank, which can grow itself over the hole, and the net of the mycelium would be used to make the stay layer below this layer.

But what if we could manipulate the mycelium of the fungus (1) to create self-repairing structures? That network would make possible to create the supporting framework for the wood cells. 

The idea is to create the organism, which would grow similar cells with diatoms, but the outer layer would be metallic. The thing that this kind of cell must sense is the airflow or pressure, and then it must grow to the point, where it feels the airflow, and when it would end, the structure would be finished. Or the other way is to use some kind of robot, which would pull the mycelium structure in the right direction. And when the structure is ready, the cells would fill the holes. Or there could be the layer, which would create a wooden surface below the layer of the fungus.

Another and farther going visions are including the genetically manipulated organisms, like fungus, what can create the layer what is forming by silicone, or maybe someday is possible to create artificial organisms, what is forming the outer layer of their cells by using metal atoms, and if the replacement of the silicone would happen by iron, titanium or wolfram or some other metal that thing would make the mycelium of the fungus very hard. This thing can make possible to create the material, which repairs itself.

(1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycelium

Image:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Diatom2.jpg/600px-Diatom2.jpg