#nanorobots

[whatareyoureallyafraidof]

Nanorobot to target cancer cells and spare healthy ones

Nanorobots have been created at Karolinska that can specifically fight cancer cells while avoiding damage to healthy ones.

[mindblowingscience]

A single dose of urea-powered nanorobots reduces bladder tumors by 90% in mouse study

Bladder cancer has one of the highest incidence rates in the world and ranks as the fourth most common tumor in men. Despite its relatively

Bladder cancer has one of the highest incidence rates in the world and ranks as the fourth most common tumor in men. Despite its relatively low mortality rate, nearly half of bladder tumors resurface within 5 years, requiring ongoing patient monitoring. Frequent hospital visits and the need for repeat treatments contribute to making this type of cancer one of the most expensive to cure. While current treatments involving direct drug administration into the bladder show good survival rates, their therapeutic efficacy remains low. A promising alternative involves the use of nanoparticles capable of delivering therapeutic agents directly to the tumor. In particular, nanorobots—nanoparticles endowed with the ability to self-propel within the body—are noteworthy.

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[bpod-bpod]

Inside Job

Minuscule robots travelling along our arteries to transport drugs or fix blockages from the inside might seem like science-fiction, but progress in miniature robotics is making it increasingly plausible. Pictured on the edge of a coin, this tiny crab is the world’s smallest remote-controlled walking robot, only half a millimetre wide. Inspired by pop-up books, the robot is made from a sophisticated layered plastic sheet, cut and bent into a 3D form. Over the legs is a metal alloy, which springs back into shape when heated; precisely heating the legs with a laser beam flips them between folded and flat positions, causing the crab to quickly scuttle along in specific directions. Still a long way from versions capable of swimming in the bloodstream, more immediately achievable goals include incorporating electronic circuits, and using the robots to repair machinery in cramped spaces – small (sideways) steps towards a new form of medicine.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

Image from work by Mengdi Han, Xiaogang Guo and Xuexian Chen, and colleagues

Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Image copyright held by the original authors

Published in Science Robotics, May 2022

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[n0rtist]

This is my 3rd iteration of this design based off of swarm robots. Swarm robotics is about studying how a system of robots can work to complete tasks, rather than an individual. Nanorobotics is often paired with swarm robots in media, but nanobots are all about being small, usually small enough to travel through bloodstreams and within the human body.

Itsibitsi [Solo Form] (Bug/Steel): Itsibitsi can call others of their kind through a signal they send from the top of their heads. Itsibitsi cannot do much harm alone as they are too light, so sometimes they wait and hide until another Itsibitsi calls them.

Itsibitsi [Swarm Form] (Bug/Steel): Itsibitsi can fend off the toughest enemies in their natural habitat, but they require to be together in order to do so. A swarm of Itsibitsi is nearly unstoppable in the forest as they can relocate boulders and carry resources to their home.

[melyzard]

Good News March 2022 (Pt5)

Using nanorobots to help clean heavy metals from polluted water  (March 2, 2022)

 An international team of researchers has developed nanorobots capable of removing heavy metals from polluted water. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communications, the group describes their nanorobots and how well they worked when tested.

The researchers developed thermosensitive magnetic nanorobots capable of bonding with heavy metals under certain circumstances and releasing them under others. The nanorobots (each just 200 nanometers wide) were made using a pluronic tri-block copolymer (PTBC) as an attractant and iron oxide to allow for control via magnetic fields. The copolymer is a temperature-sensitive PTBC. When placed in cool water, the material bonds with heavy metals. When placed in warm water, the bonds relaxed, allowing the metals to separate from the material. In practice, this meant that a group of the nanorobots could be placed into a sample of cool water where they would disperse naturally and bond with any heavy metals they encountered. Then, the nanorobots could be corralled using a magnetic field to a separate site where the water could be heated, releasing the metals. Notably, this arrangement allows the nanorobots to be reused.

[intelligentliving]

Miniature Robots That Can Fight Diseases Inside Your Body

Scientists are developing miniature robots that can hunt down and destroy cancer cells, while some can undergo surgery within the body.

[nanotechnologyworld]

Gummy-like robots that could help prevent disease

Human tissues experience a variety of mechanical stimuli that can affect their ability to carry out their physiological functions, such as protecting organs fro...

With this method, scientists are able to remotely activate multiple microactuators at specified locations -- a dexterous approach that produces exceptional results. The microactuators complete each contraction-relaxation cycle in milliseconds with large strain.

[n0rtist]

Itsibitsi [Solo Form] (Steel/Bug): They are able to communicate with each other through the light on top of their head. They are designed to wield great force through the power of teamwork as they can easily connect on top of each other.

Itsibitsi [Swarm Form] (Steel/Bug): When Itsibitsis join together into their swarm form, they can traverse great lengths together, even across steep cliffs. Humans sometimes employ Itsibitsis to move giant payloads which they can do with their combined strength.