In 1956, Arthur C. Clarke wrote “The Next Tenants,” considered to be the first work of fiction broadly describing what is today known as nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology has never gotten old for fans of science-fiction. In the ensuing decades, a slew of titles — in prose and on the silver screen — was created, all covering aspects of tiny machines operating on a nanoscale.

Before we discuss modern nanotechnology and its uses, let’s talk about scale itself. Just how big is 1 nanometer (nm)? To put it into perspective, consider the illustration below:

Group of authors, Wikipedia

One nanometer would hold 10 atoms of helium, and a Zika virus is 40nm in diameter. Comparatively, human hair is 75,000nm in diameter. Yes, the nanoscale (the length scale between 1-100 nanometers) is incredibly small. Still, if you’ve ever been sick, you know just how powerful small organisms like viruses and bacteria can be. Inside your body, these living (or semi-living) organisms do all sorts of damage — from reprogramming your cells to producing toxins laying waste to your immune system, and worse.

Modern science has enabled us to understand how these minuscule organisms work. As a result, scientists can now produce increasingly more complex nanomachines. Although they’re still in a research-and-development phase, their potential has already been tapped to a degree, providing a glimpse into what their future applications may be. Here are some:

Nanobots fight cancer

A team of scientists from Israel’s Bar-Ilan University started human trials including drug-delivering nanobots in early 2016. The bots are made of the specially folded DNA that serves as a vessel for cancer-treating drugs. Unlike chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which cause damage to healthy and cancerous cells alike, DNA nanobots attack selectively and precisely.

Only when they encounter a cancerous cell (and they can recognize 12 types) do they open up and release their payload, maximizing efficiency, while greatly reducing the damaging effect of the drug on the surrounding tissue.

A “closed” DNA nanobot. Drugs are enclosed within the tube-like DNA structure. Science magazine

An “open” DNA nanobot. Once a cancer cell is encountered, the locks are released, delivering the drug. Science magazine

To repair the cancer-induced tissue damage, nanobots can connect, forming physical bridges from one end of the damaged tissue to the other, guiding the regeneration process across enlarged area. This feature could be used expedite the healing of muscle tissue, as well as the possible reparation of the spinal cord.

Red blood cells 2.0

These nanorobots, dubbed “respirocytes” by theorist Robert Freitas, could beat your regular blood cells at their own game. Within their spherical shell, they would hold 236 times more of the pressurized oxygen and carbon dioxide, transferring them from lungs to tissue, and vice versa. If red blood cells would be replaced by respirocytes, you’d become almost superhuman.

How so? On a single breath, you could dive for hours or run at top speed for 15 minutes. A heart-attack victim could survive for hours, enabling him to reach the hospital in time for treatment.

These artificial red blood cells are still very much in the realm of theory. It will take quite some time before we can see the first prototypes.

Microrobots help during eye surgery

Using a complex electromagnetic system called “OctoMag,” scientists at ETH Zurich have been able to steer a microrobot with five degrees of freedom. Guided by nonuniform magnetic fields, the microrobot is capable of traversing the intraocular space and performing delicate retinal procedures with minimum damage caused to the surrounding tissue.

Here’s the demonstration of how it works:

Although this nonautonomous microrobot is well above the nanoscale level at 500 micrometers, it’s amazing what can be accomplished today at such a small size factor.

Nanobots suck up ocean pollution

The world’s seas are in a horrible state. At least 8 million tons of plastic leak into oceans each year, and by 2050, it will weigh more than global fish population, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) report from January 2016. While a newly discovered fungus actually thrives on eating the stuff, there’s another dangerous pollutant we need to be aware of: heavy metals.

They not only kill fish and damage their DNA, but they also accumulate in their tissues. This means that by eating fish, you’re also “enjoying” their heavy-metal diet.

Lead eating nanobots in action, artist impression

To respond to this threat, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, have designed three-layered heavy-metal-eating nanobots. The outer graphene oxide layer absorbs lead. The middle layer affects their movement as it’s composed of nickel, which is susceptible to magnetic manipulation. The third, inner platinum layer reacts with chemicals in the water to propel the nanobot forward.

After lead has been absorbed, the nanobot swarm returns, and its content is then retrieved and recycled. During testing, nanobots were fast and efficient, managing to clean 95% of the lead from polluted water. The same principle could be used to absorb other heavy metals.

What do you think about nanobots and their various applications? Please let me know in the comment section below.

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