Nanorobots capable of working inside the human body are an extremely promising development. They can diagnose, monitor people's health, and even treat diseases. But scientists at the California Institute of Technology have come up with something new in this area. They have developed a miniature biorobot that can "walk" on the surface of a DNA molecule and even rearrange its chain.
Scientists have assembled their robot from three main elements: a body, "limbs" for movement and capture of molecules, and a part responsible for orientation in space and "communication" with the external environment. As the developers told Science magazine, “Just like mechanical robots work in our world, our molecular robots are built for missions inside the body. For example, in the bloodstream. Our goal was to design and build a molecular robot that could perform a complex nanomechanical task: sorting DNA molecules."
The robot moves along the DNA strand using its "limbs". His "journey" continues until he gets to the molecule that he needs to move. In 5 minutes, the robot moves 6 nanometers. In the course of a series of experiments to test the efficiency of the new technology, the biorobot sorted six fluorescent molecules of different colors in 24 hours, moving along a "path" of DNA with an area of 58 square nanometers. Now scientists are busy optimizing the movements of the robot. According to experts, the principles of the biorobot can be used to synthesize drugs right inside the human body.
Vladimir Kuznetsov