Nanotechnology to cure humans

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

A robot fights through a raging snowstorm, searching for paradise as the journey tests his hope, strength, and purpose.

In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.

One day, robot Robby enters into a life of the most creative little boy, Toby. Robby had been separated from his robot parents when his spaceship crashed. Toby decides to offer his help and the two of them become friends.

In the near future, nanotechnology administered into the bloodstream can sync with computer apps to augment the human genome. A new law mandating and regulating this once elective procedure meets resistance from hacktivists who are conspiring to thwart the impending roll-out of "Nano version 2.0."

Two researchers, the French Emmanuelle Charpentier and the American Jennifer Doudna developed, in 2012, the CRISPR-Cas9 molecular scissors: an invention that is revolutionizing genetics. This tool allows you to cut, correct and replace, with unprecedented ease, pieces of DNA from any living being, whether plant, animal or human. Will it soon be possible to put an end to the major causes of death in our modern societies such as genetic diseases, cancer or AIDS? At the same time more exciting and more frightening: will the molecular scissors be able to modify at will an individual, even all its descendants, efficiently, quickly and at a moderate cost? This biotechnology invention, the bearer of unprecedented medical and biological progress, will perhaps win the Nobel Prize for Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna.

A new, chewable nanotechnology lets people take pictures with their eyes and cures cancer. But the early adopters find out it's hard to uninstall something after it's spread through their bloodstream.

Nanoblood is a new product promising total human potential from your friendly neighborhood pharma startup Bot Labs. The upcoming human trials are gonna knock everyone's socks off! Lisa and Toby are part of a secret group of beta testers replacing their blood cells with robots, so that's sure to turn out well for them.

Like GMOs before it, nanotechnology is irrevocably changing our world. What are the benefits of nanotech, and what are the risks? How might nanotech be used—or misused? Can the interests of science, business, and government strike a balance between the desire to act responsibly and deference to market and political pressures? These are some of the urgent questions explored in this timely four-part series.