A Shadow battlecrab from Babylon 5

A bioship is a type of spacecraft described in science fiction. Bioships differ from most spacecraft in that they are predominantly or totally composed of organic or biological components, rather than being constructed from metal or artificial materials. Because of this, they nearly always have a distinctively 'organic' look. Fair Use Screenshot from the Babylon 5 DVDs This work is copyrighted. ... Fair Use Screenshot from the Babylon 5 DVDs This work is copyrighted. ... Shadow battlecrab A Shadow battlecrab is a fictional spacecraft from the Babylon 5 universe. ... Babylon 5 is an epic science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... Ariane 5 lifts off with the Rosetta space probe on March 2, 2004. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation) and Living (disambiguation). ... Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology is the science of life (from the Greek words bios = life and logos = word). ...

Bioships are frequently regarded to be artifacts of the highest level of technology, superior to all other kinds of spacecraft. They tend to be able to absorb huge amounts of damage, can regenerate or heal damaged parts, and often have very powerful offensive weapons. Some bioships are intelligent or sentient, and are sometimes considered to be lifeforms.

Bioships in fiction

Star Trek

• Gomtuu, nicknamed "Tin Man", was the last member of a race of bioships which existed with a symbiotic (and probably telepathic) crew. It contemplated suicide after its crew was killed by radiation caused by a large explosion. Gomtuu was alone until Tam Elbrun, a Betazoid who could not control his telepathic abilities attempted first contact. Both finding a kindred spirit in the other, Tam and Gomtuu left the area and have not been seen since.
• Species 8472 pilot bioships capable of destroying Borg cubes and even planets.
• Some species use biological components on their ships, such as the Breen, or Starfleet's bio-neural gel packs, as exemplified on the USS Voyager.

Species 8472 In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Species 8472 is the name (designated by the Borg) of an advanced alien race that lives in the realm of fluidic space. ... In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Borg use a number of different vessels, all appearing as simple geometric solids with greebled exteriors and being very generalized and decentralized in design. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... Breen commander appearing on Star Trek Deep Space 9 The Breen are a species in the science fiction franchise Star Trek. ... Starfleet Command In the Star Trek fictional universe, Starfleet is the defense, research, diplomacy, and exploration force of the United Federation of Planets (UFP), with hundreds of advanced starships of various class and size at its disposal. ... The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) is an Intrepid class starship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ...

Other fiction

• In Babylon 5, two of the most powerful races, the Vorlons and the Shadows, use biological vessels.
• In Farscape, most of the story takes place aboard a large, living vessel named Moya.
• In Star Wars: New Jedi Order, the Yuuzhan Vong used bioships made of a type of coral because they viewed inorganic technology as immoral and blasphemous. The living planet Zonama Sekot also had bioships.
• In Tenchi Muyo!, the Jurai use ships grown from seeds. Their hulls are carved from the wood of giant trees, and protected by forcefields. In addition, it is possible that the cabbits Ryo-Ohki and Fuku could be considered bioships.
• In Infinite Ryvius, the Vaea project was designed to be able to leave the solar system using the gravimetric nature of the creatures (space squid) found in the Geould, a highly vioalatile sea of gas. Four were made in total; Each contains a Vital Guarder of different shape, which have high attack/defense capacity that varied from ship to ship. Each also contained a life core that was bound to a "captain", that would mentally destroy the captain if the core was destroyed. Sometimes, a dead body was used as a bio core, they are the most stable, and affect the captain least.
• In Lexx, the ship LEXX is a living ship shaped like at dragonfly with no wings capable of destroying whole planets.
• Warhammer 40,000 and Starcraft feature organic races, the Tyranids and Zerg, that use fleets and swarms of living ships to travel between worlds.
• In the comic books of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the sisterhood of the Shabda-Oud use enormous dolphin-like bioships aptly called CetaCyborgs.
• In the Japanese anime of Bio-Booster Armor Guyver, the Creators had living ships that were grown. Also, the Guyvers themselves were biotechnological armor suits.
• In seaQuest, the large submersible seaQuest DSV has an organic outer skin that can heal itself.
• The Transhuman Space supplement Spacecraft of the Solar System describes a very experimental bioship, the Nadezhda.
• The Derelict from Alien may be a bioship.
• In Earth: Final Conflict, The Taelon Mothership was a vast bioship composed of living energy that was partially self-aware
• Bioships are used for interstellar transport in the parts of the Dirty Pair comics series authored by Adam Warren.
• In Doctor Who, Axos (in the episode The Claws of Axos) is a bioship.
• In Stargate Atlantis the Wraith use ships that are alive, as their weapons and other devices apperantly are.
• In The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton the Edenist Voidhawk and Mercenary Blackhawk are both advanced bioships (the latter being a genetic tailoring for combat of the former) Both types employ mental bonding to the captain. In the case of Voidhawks this is done by both the craft and captain gestating together and maintaining mental contact during their formative years. Blackhawks however are purchased as eggs and are bonded to the buyer who will become captain when the Blackhawk matures.

Babylon 5 is an epic science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... The Vorlons are an ancient race from the science fiction series Babylon 5. ... The Shadows are an ancient alien species in the science fiction television series, Babylon 5. ... Farscape was a science fiction television series produced in Australia by the Jim Henson Company with the backing of U.S. cable broadcaster the Sci Fi Channel. ... Moya is a character/spacecraft in the Farscape universe. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. ... The New Jedi Order, also known as New Jedi Order or by its acronym, NJO, is a series of science fiction novels set in the Star Wars universe 25-30 years ABY. Its primary plotline involves an invasion of the Star Wars galaxy by the Yuuzhan Vong, but over the... The Yuuzhan Vong as seem on the cover of Vector Prime, 1999. ... The following are fictional planets set in the Star Wars universe. ... Tenchi Muyo! (天地無用! Tenchi Muyō!), is an anime and manga series about a boy named Tenchi Masaki and the alien women that love him. ... Cabbit originally referred to the Manx cat. ... Ryo-Ohki in cabbit form Ryo-Ohki (魎皇鬼 Ryōōki; sometimes written Ryo-Oh-Ki) is a character in the Japanese anime series Tenchi Muyo! and its spinoffs. ... Infinite RYVIUS (無限のリヴァイアス; Mugen no Ryvius) is a 26-episode drama/sci-fi series produced by Sunrise Animation, the studio also responsible for other landmark shows in the space genre. ... LEXX is a science fiction TV series that follows the adventures of a group of mismatched individuals aboard the Lexx, the most powerful destructive force in the two universes from which the show takes its name. ... Cover of the Warhammer 40,000 4th edition rulebook Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K) is a science fiction tabletop miniature wargame, produced by the British gaming company Games Workshop. ... StarCraft (SC) is a real-time strategy computer game by Blizzard Entertainment. ... In the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000, Tyranids are a swarm of aliens in many sizes and shapes. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Alejandro (or Alexandro) Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky (born February 7, 1929, in Tocopilla, Chile) is an actor, director, producer, composer, mime, comic book writer and psychotherapist born to Ashkenazi Jewish parents of Russia origin. ... Genera See article below. ... Bio-Booster Armor Guyver (強殖装甲ガイバー;Kyôshoku Sôkô Gaibâ; alternatively Guyver: The Bio-Boosted Armor) is a long-running (over 140 chapters) manga series written by Yoshiki Takaya, adapted into a 12-episode anime series (based roughly on the first 4 books), an OVA, and later two live action movies... seaQuest DSV was an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. OBannon. ... seaQuest DSV was an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. OBannon. ... Transhuman Space is a role-playing game published by Steve Jackson Games as parts of the Powered by GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) line. ... The Derelict The Derelict was the name given to the long-wrecked spacecraft discovered by the crew of the Nostromo on the planet LV-426 whilst responding to an SOS signal in the 1979 science fiction film, Alien. ... The science fiction/horror film Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, has become extremely popular and influential, and has spawned several sequels and imitators. ... Earth: Final Conflict is a science fiction television series posthumously created by Gene Roddenberry. ... Dirty Pair is a manga and anime franchise made by the formerly popular manga_ka Haruka Takachiho. ... Adam Warren, a self Portrait Adam Warren is an American comic book illustrator and writer who is most famous for his adaption of the Dirty Pair into comic book form. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known only as The Doctor. It is also the title of a 1996 television movie featuring the same character. ... Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off from the television series Stargate SG-1, which was based on the film Stargate (1994). ... Author Peter F. Hamiltons The Nights Dawn Trilogy consists of three epic science fiction novels: The Reality Dysfunction (1996), The Neutronium Alchemist (1997), and The Naked God (1999). ... Peter F. Hamilton (born 1960, Rutland, England), is a British science fiction author. ... Author Peter F. Hamiltons The Nights Dawn Trilogy consists of three epic science fiction novels: The Reality Dysfunction (1996), The Neutronium Alchemist (1997), and The Naked God (1999). ... Author Peter F. Hamiltons The Nights Dawn Trilogy consists of three epic science fiction novels: The Reality Dysfunction (1996), The Neutronium Alchemist (1997), and The Naked God (1999). ...

Bioships in computer games

• In Bio-ship Paladin, the player flies a bioship, which has the ability to grow.
• R-Type Final has a number of organic or part-organic Bydo-based fighters which can be unlocked later in the game. These ships are the focus of 'Typers', a novelization of R-Type.
• In Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, the Gungan race uses organic technology. Most buildings are organic and large offensive units, such as their Air Cruisers appear to be organic bioships.
• In Perfect Dark, a level is set inside a large sentient Bioship, one of a race called the Cetan. The ship rests on the floor of the Pacific ocean, where it crashed millions of years before. The ship had deliberately crashed itself there to deny anyone access to the powerful weapon it contained.
• In Escape Velocity Nova, the Polaran faction of humans developed bioship technology to replace their depleted conventional fleet. Polaran bioships are significantly more powerful than the ships of other human factions, and make use of a variety of laser and particle weapons derived from specialized organs.

Bio-ship Paladin is a horizontally scrolling shoot em up arcade game from 1990. ... R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shoot-em-up arcade game produced by Irem in 1987. ... Galactic Battlegrounds Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy game built on the Age of Empires II engine. ... This is a list of sentient races from the fictional universe of Star Wars. ... Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 game console; developed and published by Rare. ... Escape Velocity Nova (EV Nova) is a computer game by Ambrosia Software, in collaboration with ATMOS. It is the third game in the Escape Velocity series. ...

See also

• Bioengineering
• Organic (model)
• Biomimicry
• Biomaterial
• Biological tissue

Biological engineering (also biosystems engineering and bioengineering) is a broad-based engineering discipline that deals with bio-molecular and molecular processes, product design, sustainability and analysis of biological systems. ... Organic describes forms, methods and patterns found in living systems such as organisation of cells, to populations, communities, and ecosystems. ... Biomimicry (also biomimickry) is the conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies. ... In surgery, a biomaterial is a synthetic or natural material used to replace part of a living system or to function in intimate contact with living tissue. ... Biological tissue is a substance made up of cells that perform a similar function. ...

External links

• http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/Essays/BrainBugs.html - a page by Star Wars enthusiast Michael Wong, which has a section about the widely held view of bioships as advanced technology.