DNA on the move is real: just not in the way that I joked about in my video earlier this morning.
No, you can’t capture a DNA sample from a non-stationary person.
Nano bots in 2010
But the DNA itself can move to perform teeny tiny tasks, including both technological and medical ones.
“[S]cientists have been developing DNA nanomachines, from tiny tweezers to two-legged “walkers” that can step to the left or right. Recent molecular robot research has gone a step further, aiming to get DNA molecules to organize themselves and move about, all without batteries or information storage in their nanobodies.”
Even as early as 2010, these nano machines had legs that could walk and arms that could pick up nano particles. And there were dreams:
“Spiders might be able to seek and destroy cancers in the human body, assemble nanosized medical devices, and build tiny computers…”
Nano bots today
Today the cancer-battling nano robots are proven…at least in mice.
“The art of building nanoscale structures using DNA as a building material is called DNA origami and is something Björn Högberg’s research team has been working on for many years. Now they have used the technique to create a ‘kill switch’ that is activated under the right conditions.
“‘We have managed to hide the weapon in such a way that it can only be exposed in the environment found in and around a solid tumour,’ he says. ‘This means that we have created a type of nanorobot that can specifically target and kill cancer cells.’”
Of course, other nano bots could commit evil deeds, so watch out.
