Honey I Shrunk....Some Robots?

In this post I will be examining a research article published in Science Magazine entitled “A Logic-Gated Nanorobot for Targeted Transport of Molecular Payloads.” Basically this article talks about the use and production of extremely small robots (Nanorobots) that can be used to help fix minuscule items like defective DNA and human cells that are infected by viruses. Authors, and scientists, Shawn M. Douglas, Ido Bachelet and George M. Church have been experimenting with the shapes and operating functions of nanobots to allow them to fix problems that are small in size but very large in importance.  

Diagram of Nanobot Designed and Tested 
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6070/831.full?sid=23a2d5a5-6a27-482f-91ab-bf4645d95e28

The testing done examined a "design (of) a robotic DNA device capable of selectively interfacing with cells to deliver signaling molecules to cell surfaces." The robots, shown above, have hinges to open and close in order to release whatever is inside the nanobot capsule to the defects in the human body. The researchers call the objects inside the capsules payloads. The nanobots are made with specific items that let them perform their functions when they come in contact with a certain substance such as a protein or DNA strands. Essentially, the nanobots enter the human body, find the problem they are designed for, and then fix or remove that problem.

Example of a Nanobot in a Blood Vessel

As seen in the video a nanobot could remove dangerous substances from a persons blood stream without rigorous work performed by a doctor. The use of nanobots is a clear example of how machines, especially in medicine, can help mankind in a way that hasn't been possible before now. Some problems in the human body can be fixed a lot easier by a robot, around 1,000,000 times smaller than the thickness of a US dime, than by using trial and error via the use of numerous medicines and old medical techniques. Someday a blood infection, genetic disorder or virus could be cured by millions of robots rather than by medicine and numerous tests.