Nanite

Nanites are miniaturized machines that are designed to perform a basic function, typically acting as a kind of advanced protein, where reproduction is undesirable. Bacteria and nanobes are far superior in cases where reproduction is desirable (if tuned via gengineering), and nanites make poor aggressors against those creatures with defenses against them, which even the alpha strain grants to some degree. The vast majority of nanites are used in chemical analysis and separation, for medical, mining, and recycling purposes.

Nanoweapons tend to be considered vastly inferior to biological or chemical counterparts. However, because they can be set to more complex tasks than simple chemicals, they are considered as potential 'ecological restructuring' devices, potentially useful for when only one integrated part of a biosphere needs to be converted, as in terraforming.