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Science Fiction in the News Articles
Related to material in The Andromeda Strain
by Michael Crichton

A spacecraft returns from orbit with something extra; a top-secret government program swings into action. Outstanding early novel; very well-paced, still great reading after all these years.

Science fiction in the News articles describe real-world events that relate to the ideas and inventions in sf novels and movies. Select a news article:

Amazonian Fungus Eats Polyurethane
   I guess I'd still like to know what the fungus breaks plastic down into.

Robotic Sentry Gun From USMechatronics
   Two brothers build an autonomous robotic sentry gun as a summer project.

South Korean Intelligent Surveillance and Guard Robot
   This autonomous robotic sentry gun has a choice of lethal and non-lethal rounds, and comes with voice recognition as standard equipment.

Meteorite Brings Illness To Peruvian Village
   A strange incident in Peru this past weekend has readers thinking about The Andromeda Strain.

Peruvian Meteor Sickness Diagnosed
   After some investigation, scientists have solved the mystery of the Peruvian meteorite sickness.

Bacteria Eats Plastic; What Could Go Wrong?
   Clever teen has a great idea - maybe somewhere in nature, the plastic bag problem has already been solved.

NEC Thermal Scans For Flu
   NEC is taking no chances at their corporate headquarters - the flu patrol is looking for you!

Robotic Breast Exam And Biopsy
   The tabletop robot doctor research you read about (here) last summer continues to advance.

PharmaSat Nano-Satellite Orbiting 'Lab'
   Interesting experiment exapnds the role of very small, autonomous experimental 'labs'.

DoDAMM Autonomous Robot Sentry Gun
   This gun targets and fires automatically.

Flex, The First Portable VeinViewer
   Michael Crichton actually thought of this idea forty years ago.

RoboDoc Friendly Robot Pulse-Taker
   A child-friendly Photoplethysmograph.

The Plastic Eaters - Amazon Fungus Lives On Plastic
   'the smell of the rotting plastic began to hang permanently in the air...'- Davis/Pedlar, 1971

Ground Control Space Beer
   Ninkasi Brewing Co. has its own space program. I'm impressed.

Asteroid Cleaner Robot To Sweep Up Dust Around The Solar System
   'JPL was designing a satellite to enter the fringes of space and collect organisms and dust for study...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

NASA Culturing ISS Walls For Microbes
   'Collect organisms and dust for study...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

Veebot Robotic Blood Drawing ala Andromeda Strain
   'The device was able to insert intravenous needles, finding veins easily.' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

Worms Eat Plastic Now
   'Slowly and inexorably, the rate of dissolution increased...' - Davis/Pedlar, 1971.

DIY Robot Shoots You In The Face
   '...there were automatic guns that fired ligamine darts.' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

Mushroom Eats Plastic, Saves Planet
   Fungus Amongus, SaveUs!

Another Soil Bacterium Eats Plastic
   '...the plastic was dissolved before his eyes.' - Michael Crichton, 1969.

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