What has six legs, smaller than a grain of salt and is designed clear blocked arteries? Give up? It’s a new microscopic robot that was produced by the Chonnam National University in Korea.
This little crab-like device was designed to release a chemical that will immediately clear obstructions to the heart. The legs are made of grafted heart tissue and may need to be grown from stem cells based on the patients own body. Otherwise the little bugger might be destroyed by the patients immune system.
External power has often made such projects impractical if not impossible. So they came up with an ingenious alternative. Sugar in the patients blood will power this bad boy.
Just like the personal computer these machines will become more efficient and much smaller. Nanomedicine will make even this robot seem big one day.
Robert Freitas at the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing is on record stating that a common nanorobot would be between 0.5-3 micrometers in size. For comparison purposes, that is about 1,000 times smaller than this artery clearing crab.
Nanorobots will provide cures for life threatening diseases, like cancer. They could even repair cells to slow biological aging, allowing us to live hundreds of years. This is just the first step in a succession of advances that will change medical and human history. It sure is an exciting time to be alive.
[Gizmodo]
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