It used to be so easy to tell humans and computers apart—humans are carbon-based life forms, computers are silicon-based machines. But then came the idea of "DNA computers" which hold the promise of performing trillions of calculations simultaneously using the blueprint of life. Now the distinction is being blurred still further—this time by the possibility of using silicon, the stuff of computer chips, to build artificial body parts. And tiny silicon capsules could even monitor and adjust the balance of chemicals in our bodies, delivering drugs or hormones to keep us in tip-top health.
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