Respirocyte

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Respirocytes are hypothetical, artificial red blood cells that can supplement or replace the function of much of the human body's normal respiratory system.

Still entirely theoretical, respirocytes measure 1 micrometer in diameter. Respirocytes mimic the action of the natural hemoglobin-filled red blood cells. The design of the spherical nanorobot is made up of 18 billion atoms arranged as a tiny pressure tank. The tank can be filled up with oxygen and carbon dioxide, making one complete transfer point at the lungs, and the reverse transfer at the body's tissues.

Each respirocyte can store and transport 200 times more oxygen and carbon dioxide than our natural red blood cells. Filled with these respirocytes, an adult human could hold his/her breath underwater for four hours. That person could also sprint at top speed for at least 15 minutes without taking a breath.

- cited from respirocytes.info

Muscle fatigue results from inadequate supply of oxygen to the muscles during intense exercise, leading to inefficient anaerobic respiration and the buildup of lactic acid in muscle tissue, causing pain and exhaustion. If respirocytes could increase the supply of oxygen despite exercise, it should be possible to reduce muscle fatigue, increasing a person's endurance.

Theorist Robert Freitas 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. (Ray Kurzweil, "The Singularity Is Near," p.254)

By definition, respirocytes qualify as nanotechnology, a field of technology still in the early phases of development. Considerations involved in building respirocytes include power, immune reaction or toxicity, computation and communication, and social issues such as economics.

[edit] Transhumanism

Because respirocytes and related technologies would, if successful, improve the user's abilities beyond normal human limits, their design is associated with the Transhumanism movement which seeks such advances.