Present technology
Nanotechnology has taken small but significant strides
in nanorobotics. Some of the most progressive research conducted on
nanorobotics is done at the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Nano-Center at Bar Ilan
University in Israel. They have developed
DNA nanobots that behave like cargo containers that can open and close. These
nanobots can be used to deliver highly toxic medicine to specific locations
that cannot be reached by syringes or surgery. One advantage to this is the
medicine will be more effective than injecting it into a vein or organ, which
risks the drug damaging healthy cells. These nanobots are not currently in
public use, they are being tested on cockroaches in a lab in Israel. Scientists
can remotely control the nanobots through electrical waves from computers. Each
nanobot has its own Internet Protocol. (IP address)
Nanobots that are being developed are constructed of DNA. Different combinations of DNA make up every part of the nanobot, including the internal computer that responds to magnetic signals transmitted from the larger computers. These nanobots can be programmed with simple interactions, which can allow them to behave like swarms of insects or fish. The nanobots can reach out to each other and build physical bridges out of themselves. Using these bridges, the nanobots can cross chasms of broken bone, a severed spinal cord, or cross from one blood vessel to another. They are able to understand their current population and deliver medicine to a targeted location when the population of nanobots in an area increases to a set amount.
Currently if a person inherits an increased chance to get cancer, or some other disability or disease, one of the present solutions is gene therapy. Current gene therapy uses viruses that contain special DNA to repair mutated genes. If the virus happens to bind with a cell with mutated genes, the DNA will be split and the healthy genes will be reproduced. If the viruses change the DNA of a vital cell, the results can often be fatal. Gene therapy is not used very often, is generally very risky, and can often harm the patient. An alternative to gene therapy could be nanobots which would more accurately target the right cells, therefore reducing the risk of infecting the wrong cell. The current prototype nanobots cannot fight viruses or repair damaged genes. These features are concepts.
In the scientific field of nanotechnology scientists are merely scratching the surface of what nanobots could be. Imagine what this world would be like without any diseases or viruses. What if broken bones could be repaired in an instant? The possibilities of medical nanobots are very exciting, and are limitless.
Nanobots that are being developed are constructed of DNA. Different combinations of DNA make up every part of the nanobot, including the internal computer that responds to magnetic signals transmitted from the larger computers. These nanobots can be programmed with simple interactions, which can allow them to behave like swarms of insects or fish. The nanobots can reach out to each other and build physical bridges out of themselves. Using these bridges, the nanobots can cross chasms of broken bone, a severed spinal cord, or cross from one blood vessel to another. They are able to understand their current population and deliver medicine to a targeted location when the population of nanobots in an area increases to a set amount.
Currently if a person inherits an increased chance to get cancer, or some other disability or disease, one of the present solutions is gene therapy. Current gene therapy uses viruses that contain special DNA to repair mutated genes. If the virus happens to bind with a cell with mutated genes, the DNA will be split and the healthy genes will be reproduced. If the viruses change the DNA of a vital cell, the results can often be fatal. Gene therapy is not used very often, is generally very risky, and can often harm the patient. An alternative to gene therapy could be nanobots which would more accurately target the right cells, therefore reducing the risk of infecting the wrong cell. The current prototype nanobots cannot fight viruses or repair damaged genes. These features are concepts.
In the scientific field of nanotechnology scientists are merely scratching the surface of what nanobots could be. Imagine what this world would be like without any diseases or viruses. What if broken bones could be repaired in an instant? The possibilities of medical nanobots are very exciting, and are limitless.
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