In the 1960’s science fiction movie, Fantastic Voyage, Dr Jan Benes is left comatose with a life-threatening blood clot after a Soviet assassination attempt. Captain Bill Owens and his crew have only 60 minutes to board a miniaturized submarine and make their way to the clot, operate, and exit the body before they are returned to normal size, killing the unfortunate Benes. Since its 1966 release, Fantastic Voyage has been widely celebrated, satirized, and now – with a new device developed by Jinxing Li and his team from the Department of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego – imitated. Although there’s no “atomic miniaturization” involved, Li’s team have developed a microscopic “submarine” that can speed through the stomach using gastric acid for fuel (while simultaneously neutralizing it) and release cargo precisely at the desired pH. The “submarine” is actually a proton-driven, biocompatible micromotor with a pH-dependent polymer coating that can be loaded with drugs.

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About the Author

James Strachan

Over the course of my Biomedical Sciences degree it dawned on me that my goal of becoming a scientist didn’t quite mesh with my lack of affinity for lab work. Thinking on my decision to pursue biology rather than English at age 15 – despite an aptitude for the latter – I realized that science writing was a way to combine what I loved with what I was good at.



From there I set out to gather as much freelancing experience as I could, spending 2 years developing scientific content for International Innovation, before completing an MSc in Science Communication. After gaining invaluable experience in supporting the communications efforts of CERN and IN-PART, I joined Texere – where I am focused on producing consistently engaging, cutting-edge and innovative content for our specialist audiences around the world.