Biocombinaison

Nanotechnology is a fundamental element of modern spacefaring technology, from in-situ resource extraction to the immune systems that defend TSF Frontiersmen from kharaa infection.

But nanotechnology is not a miracle, and it is strongly constrained both by thermodynamics and by the basic challenges of powering and moving a machine smaller than many cells.

One of the earliest applications of nanotechnology was underwear—specifically biosupport garments worn underneath EVA suits, construction equipment and combat armor. The skin is the largest organ in the human body by area, making it both a critical health customer and an important interface. Bedsores, blisters, abscesses, bunions and general hygiene cannot be treated while locked in armor. Thermal management issues and touch starvation contribute to the general unpleasantness of long-duration enclosure.

Biosuits, consisting of a sandwich of artificial tissue and hard outer components, help manage all of these problems. Modern biosuits serve as an artificial extension of several body systems, smoothly blending the wearer’s biology into a tough, sensitive carapace that processes waste and nourishes the meat within.

Biosuits are not intelligent, and possess processing capability only on par with the human enteric nervous system—the gut. Their architecture is also better suited to sensation and interface than to any centralized task. Any software running on a biosuit would be very limited. Biosuits are therefore NOT A SUBSTITUTE for a dedicated processing unit like a PDA or a server, and should NEVER be entrusted with complex tasks or long-term planning outside of scheduled medical treatment.

Biosuits are popular vectors for biological and informatic smuggling.