[citation][nom]snowzsan[/nom]You do realize that viruses mutate rather quickly, right? So if it's not compatible with human cell/tissue right now, what makes you think that putting in our day to day devices (so constantly having it around us) wouldn't cause it to mutate?This has global catastrophe written all over it. I don't know how our best and brightest come up with some of the stupidest ideas.[/citation]
I really hope you're just joking around, because that's not necessarily correct. RNA based viruses do have the ability to mutate rather quickly, while DNA based ones cannot. A good example is the flu virus compared to small pox. Small pox is DNA based, so one vaccination lasted a lifetime, while the flu is RNA based and changes very rapidly. Furthermore, a virus isn't just going to mutate to infect humans just because it's in constant contact with them. If that was true, all kinds of viruses that infect plants and bacteria would also mutate in a way to infect us. The only kinds that do that at all are from other mammals (and for reasons I don't quite understand, birds as well).
So, assuming the people that are creating these viruses have even a basic grasp of epidemiology we'll be just fine. So how about a little less doomsaying and a little bit more congratulations for scientists who are on the verge of a breakthrough that could revolutionize portable devices?