In Armageddon Science: The Science of Mass Destruction, English science writer Brian Clegg, who has an advanced degree in physics from Cambridge University, considers the threats, both real and theoretical, that science and technology pose to the world. He searches beyond the obvious examples of nuclear warfare and global warming and introduces such strange concepts as antimatter bombs, nanorobots and cyberterrorist war.

“The downside is what happens if these things go wrong.,” he said. “There are two scenarios. One is that since nanobots need energy, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t eat us, especially if we’re injecting them into the body. The other possibility is the reverse of the nanobot-as-assembler. Nanobots could take things apart atom by atom. But I think the whole thing is a very long-term concern. Just having a robot that works is difficult enough.”