• Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    So apparently they’re starting to create machines with biological parts. I wonder how long until we get artificial stomachs capable of using anything not explodey or caustic for fuel?

    • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      It would already be awesome if we could hack or genetically engineer our gut biome to produce all needed vitamins and proteins out of carbohydrates and fats. Theoretically then we could live just off of sugar or oil. Plus some minerals.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Right? And can we get some kind of metering system so we don’t pack on extra fat?

        People are afraid of a cybernetic future but I’m sitting here wondering just how healthy we can make the human body.

        • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          That too! I think that has more to do with fat cells and hormonal balances. But hopefully we will make medical advances soon that allow us more control over our own bodies instead of cybernetics.

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      In order of worst to best case scenario the human body will reject, wear down, or scar around any and all implanted foreign materials or objects. Implants of every type have a shelf life, some long enough to never worry about removal. The best method to secure implants are to bones, but the only nearby bones for the stomach are the hips and spine, with organ cavity linings being problematically in the way for most attachments. For the digestive system it would need to be extremely resistant to corrosion and it would also need to be nontoxic as it would inevitably enter the bloodstream. Even teeth fillings are only rated for about a decade at most.

      So, to be blunt, no such technology exists on this earth nor any speculation on how it ever might.

      • bitfucker@programming.dev
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        2 months ago

        I think the commenter mean using artificial stomach for machinery to convert food into energy that the machine can use

        • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Oh that makes a little more sense, but not entirely sure why you would do that. We have Anaerobic Digestor Machinery already but they always lead into a combustion engine rather than making an artificial stomach keep an artificial heart pumping.

          • bitfucker@programming.dev
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            2 months ago

            Well, ease of use I suppose. Just look at us capable of using basically anything as an energy source. Imagine a machine that is not finicky on how they got their energy. The problem for any such machine will always be efficiency. You cannot do more work than the energy that you put in a system. Such machines will need a stomach that is capable of processing “food” at the same/greater speed that it is spending its energy. Not to mention we usually use machine for heavy, energy intensive task, so I doubt such stomach will be useful for any meaningful machine.

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Sorry did you mean powering a machine with food? We have those, there is a university somewhere that throws copious amounts of expired mayo into an Anaerobic Digestor which produces fuel for a combustion engine.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I meant for me, but I can see where the confusion comes from. I was not at all clear.