Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!thor.acc.stolaf.edu!sobiloff
From: sobiloff@THOR.ACC.STOLAF.EDU (Blake Sobiloff)
Newsgroups: sci.nanotech
Subject: Re: viability of blue goo
Summary: Nano-blue-goo in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Message-ID: <8906150843.AA06303@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 14 Jun 89 12:57:56 GMT
References: <8906120201.AA12584@athos.rutgers.edu> <8906130724.AA21688@athos.rutgers.edu>
Sender: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu
Organization: St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
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Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu

In article <8906130724.AA21688@athos.rutgers.edu> macleod@drivax.UUCP (MacLeod) writes:
>thinks it's Blue (i.e.. a "Good Guy") and attempts to carry out its mandate
>to Do Good.  Considering the havoc wrought by human societies trying to Do Good, 
>I don't expect much better from the Goo. Jack Williamson's "The Humanoids"
>was probably the first exploration of this theme in detail. 

In ST:TNG recently there was an episode which dealt with the attempted
containment of "a mysterious disease" which caused a person to age at an
incredibly rapid rate, usually causing death in several days.  Eventually
the "disease" was traced back to a colony on a planet that was used for 
human genetic experimentation.  The scientists had "re-engineered" the 
human immune system to be active instead of passive.  When a crewman from
a visiting ship brought some strain of flu that the genetically altered 
individuals had not been exposed to, their immune systems created some sort
of airborne goo that altered a gene that "controlled the aging process."
The target of this blue-goo was the flu, but the goo also seemed to attack
humans.

This is just FYI...and from a rather unconcentrated viewing so a few of the
details may be off a little, but the gist of it is correct.

Later...	
							Blake

-- 
********************************************************
* Blake "Hey, where's *MY* fancy .signature?" Sobiloff *
*             sobiloff@thor.acc.stolaf.edu             *
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[...and they *finally* started using the technology they claim to have
 up to its potential:  they cure the doctor, who has taken this "disease",
 by running her through the transporter and simply resetting all her DNA
 molecules to their previous configurations.
 --JoSH]