The Vision of Controlled Production at Molecular Level via Self-Replicating ‘Assemblers’

Some claim that nanotechnology could ultimately lead to the miniaturisation of controlledproduction to the molecular level in much the same way as happens in human cells when, for instance, enzymes break and rearrange bonds holding molecules together. The vision is of potentially self-replicating 'assemblers' - tiny devices operating in unison like miniature versions of factory assembling lines - to produce 'nanomaterials', new products that will revolutionise construction, medicine, space exploration and computing.