As of 2007 the current scientific definition of a biomechanical organism - as listed in the Oxford English Dictionary - is:
| “ | A living and reproductively capable organism whose physiology consists of organic, inorganic, and synthetic materials. In order to be accurately classified as biomechanical the organism in question must
1.) have a genesis of being biologically engineered by a separate species, or group of species - as such its development occurs outside the evolutionary timeline of the environment in which it was created. 2.) This process of bio-engineering must incorporate some application of mechanical engineering and/or the principles there of to the organism in question as well as incorporate these aspects into the biological structure of said organism 3.) The organism must be able to reproduce via gametes - be the organism haploid, diploid, or polyploidy - and reproduce via either sexual reproduction and/or asexual reproduction. This reproduction is not limited to either the k-selection or r-selection strategies. 4.) The organism must be able to synthesize any and all organic, inorganic, and synthetic materials naturally without a required interaction between the organism and the species responsible for said organism's genesis 5.) The organism must be self-reliant and self-sustaining as well as be able to evolve beyond its original design once introduced through the natural process of inter-organism/trans-environmental interaction. |
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It should be noted that the use of the term "inorganic" in the above definition not only includes "standard" inorganic material (inorganic salts, inorganic phosphates, etc.), but also refers to metals, metalloids and alloys not commonly occurring in biological organisms. It should also be pointed out that the term "biomechanical organism" should not be confused with "android" or "cybernetic organism (cyborg)." In comparison to biomechanical organisms androids are comprised purely of synthetic materials, are unable to evolve, and unable to reproduce via gametes. Cybernetic organisms contain metal and/or metalloid and/or synthetic augmentations within a biological physiology. As such these augmentations occur separately from normal biological development and growth, and there for not genetic - making them nontransferable via biological reproduction.
