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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...

Researchers in the US have created a DNA-based nanorobot that can work its way through cell cultures, delivering cargo only at specific targets. The development could pave the way for programmable therapeutics, in which nanorobots would provide medical treatment only to certain types of cell or tissue.  The DNA barrel only opens to release its cargo at specific cells © AAAS The field of nanomachines has taken off in recent years, mostly thanks to so-called DNA origami. In this technique, DNA strands can be folded controllably into a structure, onto which different molecules can be attached. Researchers have already shown...

TINY robots that can turn into any shape - from a replica human to a banana to a mobile phone - are being developed by scientists in the United States. The new science of claytronics, which will use nanotechnology to create tiny robots called catoms, should enable three-dimensional copies of people to be "faxed" around the world for virtual meetings. A doctor could also consult with a patient over the phone, even taking their pulse by holding the wrist of the claytronic replica, reports New Scientist. And the nano "clay" could be carried around, shape-shifting into virtually anything when required....