Robots to cure leukaemia? Microscopic nano-bots could be injected into veins in FIVE years

Astonishing research may have just led to the unleashing of cancer-killing nano-bots in our systems. 

China’s Harbin Institute of Technology has perfected tiny machines to enter our bloodstreams and other hard-to-reach places including the retina. 

Researchers believe the nano-bots could minimise the need for invasive surgery and administer medicine from inside our veins. 

The breakthrough has been touted as the ‘next generation’ in healthcare, and work is being done on creating biodegradable nano-bots which simply dissolve in the system.

Swimming at 10 micrometers per second, the team discovered a front crawl type stroke was the most effective. 

Magnetic arms propel the bots forward as a magnetic field controls their direction. 

The bots were challenged to swim in more viscous liquid than water, mimicking a variety of body fluids. 

Preparing the tiny warriors for the inside of the human body, the machines were still able to swim but their pace was halved to around 5.5 micrometers per second. 

Eric Diller, a microbot researcher at the University of Toronto, said: “It’s exciting due to its speed and its really small size, just about the same size as a blood vessel.

“It’s small enough basically to go anywhere within the body.”

Human trials could be seen in five years, he said. 

Previous research has showed nano-bots producing phenomenal results when tackling deadly disease leukaemia, a cancer of the blood. 

Shawn Douglas, from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, created nano-bots using ‘DNA origami’. 

They were designed in a clam-like shape devised to hold a dose of medicine inside. 

The ‘clam’ only opened when it found its target by creating two locks on the nano-bot which was controlled by DNA. 

Mr Douglas’ team programmed the bots to only unlock when they came into contact with molecules found on leukaemia cells. 

They filled the clam with a cell-killing arsenal which wipes out the cancerous cells by interfering with its growth cycle. 

Then they released thousands of the microscopic clam bots into human blood mixed with healthy and cancerous cells. 

When they checked three days later, remarkably they found half the leukaemia cells and been destroyed but none of the healthy ones were harmed. 

Mr Douglas theorised that equipping the clams with additional weapons, they could take out every last cancerous cell. 

This new type of technology could be so advanced and effective it would leave rapidly developing calls alone – such as hair follicles – which suffer during other types of cancer treatment. 

Jørgen Kjems at Aarhus University in Denmark, noted: “The next step will be to ensure the DNA nanorobot can withstand the destructive environment of living organisms

“Once this has been accomplished, there’s promise that scientists can create new and more effective medicines for animals and humans.”

Despite the study being conducted several years ago, the last hurdle is ensuring the nano-bots can survive inside humans – what China’s new research is a step away from achieving.