Self-assembling microparticle machines

well that looked usless...hope i'm wrong and they can realy do something with that stuff

That looks really cool !! Think of all the possible applications of this. If these particles can be programmed they can form/break formations to form simple and highly complex structures.. Sounds straight outta a science-fiction movie

That was fantastic. I wonder how they control the movement? Magnetics sure, but directed how?

This would be great at fixing leaks or for forming patches.

Well, I can see some uses for this that are not so beneficial. Maybe Kurzweil is right. There really is a techno event horizon that we are heading toward. Nanotechnology is starting to scare me, and I'm not usually a paranoid person. Nanotech in general is not really different from first splitting the atom. They didn't really know if the entire atmosphere would be involved in the chain reaction but they did it anyway. A rational person doesn't give a 4 year old a gun to play with. At the same time, it's absolutely fascinating.

This story is so lame...its not new technology. everyones done this with a magnet as a kid and started pulling around iron filings on a table.

Perhaps if perfected this could be used to transport chemo-therapy directly to cancer in the human body, minimizing the bad of effects of the drug.

If they're ever going to start using this technology in the human body to regulate some vital function or recovery process, then in my opinion they'd better try and find some other means besides magnetism to operate these SAMMs. Magnetism is all around us in our daily lives, and who's to say that walking close to a card sweeper isn't accidentally going to (de)activate them?