Self-assembling nanodevices could advance medicine one tiny leap at a time

Seems like Harvard wasn't content with making robotic bees, and has taken its quest for miniaturization right down to the nanoscale level. One nanometer-wide, single-stranded DNA molecules are the topic of the university's latest research, which sets out a way they can be used to create "3D prestressed tensegrity structures." Should these theoretical scribblings ever pan out in the real world, we could see the resulting self-assembled nanodevices facilitating drug delivery targeted directly at the diseased cells, and even the reprogramming of human stem cells. Infusing a nanodevice with the relevant DNA data passes instructions on to your stem cells, which consequently turn into, for example, new bone tissue or neurons to augment your fleshy CPU. Yes, we're kinda freaked out, but what's cooler than being able to say you're going to the doctor for a shot of nanotransformers?

[ssguy Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:45AM]

Resistance is futile......

[Teslanaut Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:47AM]

@ssguy I ain't resisting to 7 of 9.

[Ellianth Posted Jun 24th 2010 3:04AM]

@Teslanaut she ain't assimilating you either :p.

[MrFluffyThing Posted Jun 24th 2010 3:19AM]

@ssguy I'll let a miniature Optimus Prime destroy decepticon- I mean diseased- cells in my body any day!

[Beatnik Posted Jun 24th 2010 7:30AM]

@ssguy
As a physician and cyberpunk fan, I knew this was going to happen someday, we have resistance problems with antibiotics, and a small number of useful antiviral drugs (interferon, aciclovir, and anti-retrovirals).
We wont be using antibiotics in the future, nanobots in our body can destroy virus and bacteria mechanically instead of chemical-pharmacologically.
The future of medicine is in Genetics, Nanomedicine, and Biocybernetics.
SINGULARITY IS NEAR
By the way, there is an interesting movie about Nanobots causing illness:
One point O (Paranoia 1.0)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317042/

[Shinigami Posted Jun 25th 2010 11:21AM]

@Beatnik Our nano-doom is so close just because geno-doom has been averted, thanks to religion.

I wonder when they'll ban nanomachines as unethical...

[joshky Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:46AM]

First!
that would be really cool indeed. think of how much faster people will heal.

[joshky Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:46AM]

@joshky darn not first lol

[Psyclotr0n Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:47AM]

i, for one, welcome our new nano-sized overlords

[lettcco Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:47AM]

skynet would be pleased

[Nilithius Posted Jun 24th 2010 4:15AM]

Nanobots, roll out!

[bigbudha Posted Jun 24th 2010 4:30AM]

this could lead to the end of the world. research grey goo.

[Hamletpri2 Posted Jun 24th 2010 4:32AM]

dam, i was stupid to think i would be the first person to refer to scifi shows here. Oh well, the borg and the replicators from the pegasus galaxy are out to get us

[terrence1019 Posted Jun 24th 2010 5:05AM]

Two words: Max Steel

[Julevi Posted Jun 24th 2010 6:07AM]

military programs to enhance soldiers on the fly...or if you've ever played Metal Gear Solid 4......::shudders::

[Inkopa Posted Jun 24th 2010 6:29AM]

reminds me of GI joe actually.

[buoy Posted Jun 24th 2010 7:29AM]

Eric Drexler. Engines of creation. Bet he's been waiting how many years for this news to come.

Supercomputers the size of dust.

Ray Kurzweil: Biology, although remarkable, is quite inefficient. If we could replace only 10% of the blood cells in the human body with synthetic versions operating at a much higher capacity, we could sprint for 15 minutes without taking a breath, or sit on the bottom of the pool for 4 hours.

We will develop machines that enter in our bloodstream and repair our bodies and keep us healthy. In a few more decades, we will be adding more than 1 year of life to a person's life expectancy per year, so as you are aging, your projected lifespan is moving away from you.

(these are just some quotes from these wonderful people). cheers.

[Beatnik Posted Jun 24th 2010 7:45AM]

@buoy
Agreed, Singularity is Near.

[Joshua Przygocki Posted Jun 24th 2010 11:48AM]

Oh no... Read "Prey" by Michael Crichton.

[optimusfisher Posted Jun 24th 2010 12:52PM]

While a pic of Optimus is always tasteful, you blew it here engadget. Nanobite technology is from GI Joe. You are rocking the wrong Hasbro image.

[LANjackal Posted Jun 24th 2010 1:36PM]

This is gonna be awesome :)

[jawman Posted Jun 24th 2010 2:25PM]

The movie Terminator is becoming more real everyday.