Posted on 03/18/2021 9:10:40 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Now, in a new study published in the journal Science Robotics, researchers led by ICREA Research Professor Samuel Sánchez and his team "Smart Nano-Bio-Devices" at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), together with the group Radiochemistry & Nuclear Imaging Lab from CIC biomaGUNE lead by Jordi Llop and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), have managed to observe in vivo the collective behavior of a large number of autonomous nanorobots inside the bladder of living mice using radioactive isotope labeling.
"The fact of having been able to see how nanorobots move together, like a swarm, and of following them within a living organism, is important, since millions of them are needed to treat specific pathologies such as, for example, cancer tumors," says Samuel Sánchez, principal investigator at IBEC.
"We have demonstrated for the first time that nanorobots can be monitored in vivo through Positron Emission Tomography (PET), a highly sensitive, non-invasive technique used in the biomedical environment," says Jordi Llop, principal investigator at the Radiochemistry & Nuclear Imaging Lab from CIC biomaGUNE.
To do this, the researchers first carried out in vitro experiments, monitoring the nanorobots through optical microscopy and positron emission tomography (PET). Both techniques allowed them to observe how the nanoparticles mixed with the fluids and were capable of migrating, collectively, following complex paths. The nanorobots were then administered intravenously to mice and, finally, introduced into the bladders of these animals. Since nanorobots are coated with an enzyme called urease, which uses the urea from urine as a fuel, they swim collectively inducing fluid flows inside the bladder.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
The future of nanobotsnis not tiny machines made out of inorganic s but programmable bacteria, yeasts, or protozoa. They are working very hard to figure out programmable DNA and once they have that, watch out.
Michael Crichton, Prey:
first thing i thought of.
glad i won’t be around to see the technology we invent ultimately destroy us
Ditto, Prey...
They’ve done great work with nanotechnology clearing arterial plaque. Imagine a world free of arteriosclerosis! It might be literally just two or three years away....
More Star Trek stuff approaching reality. Seven of Nine’s nanoprobes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.