Desktop Biofactories

leb writes: "Eurekalert has a synopsis of an upcoming Science article that describes the creation of 'microbots' 670 micrometers tall and 170 to 240 micrometers wide that were able to manipulate small cell like beads in biological environments. Coupled with a multisensor area, the microrobots also may suggest lab-on-a-chip designs, or 'factory-on-a-desk' tools, programmed to assemble various microstructures. Sounds a little like Neil Stephenson's 'The Diamond Age' to me ..."

Comments

How close to a cure for cancer?

[TheDullBlade]

I've long felt that the final cure for cancer will be a persistent weeding strategy: detect every tiny tumor as it gets started, and cut it out ASAP.

Tiny robotic implements like this, which can be built onto the tip of a needle (or better yet, a "tentacle" needle using the same technology that can flex and move around important nerves and blood vessels, so it can safely penetrate to any place in the body) and can function in conductive fluids (like in the human body), are probably the most important missing component to implement automated tumor weeding.

It could also have very important applications in cleaning out blood vessels (much finer than our current "balloon" and "burner" methods).

This kind of microtechnology could provide many of the health benefits expected from nanotechnology. This could be the key to pushing the average life expectancy past 100 years.

Puts the lie to some molecular nanotech propaganda

[TheDullBlade]

This thing will be useful. Lots of the molecular nanotechnology people have been saying that micromachinery will never be useful.

It looks more and more like we'll be going down one step at a time, not just suddenly building a molecular assembler with chemical processes and AFMs. Like Feynman thought: build one little set of hands, use that to build a smaller set of hands, until you've got one built out of atoms.

I remember a portion of the book "Nano" that mercilessly, and utterly without class, mocked the efforts of the micromachinery crowd, taking special effort to make fun of the "three little gears" (an electrostatic motor and two gears driven by it). I don't know if this outburst was the fact that they were building mechanisms, while the nanotech people were still only doing simulations, but I thought it was completely uncalled-for.

Nanotechnology will be an incredible revolution in technology, but advances in microtechnology are not only useful in themselves, but IMHO essential to the development of nanotechnology. I remember one thing a nanotech researcher said that convinced me of this: he said that they thought they had built a wire and some diodes, but they couldn't hook them to anything, so they just couldn't tell.

BTW, they're actually performing tasks on the micrometer scale, to be fair. Think: a human is built at the meter scale, and one can work at the millimeter scale. This thing is built at the millimeter scale, and it can move things around to micrometer accuracy. I'm sure a nanotech assembler would be at least micrometer across, but you wouldn't call it "microtechnology" because of that.

Ant smackdown

[Money__]

From the article: "Submerged in an electrolyte solution, several robots were wired to an electrical source and videotaped as they as hoisted a glass bead. Much like puppeteers pulling one string or another, the researchers stimulated the microrobots' fingers, wrists and elbows by applying a charge to specific joints. To open and close the microrobots' hand, for example, they successively applied positive and negative potentials."

It's amazing to me that these little guys can move a glass beed more than 250 microns (. They're only ~200 microns big, so that's like an ant moving another ant the length of his body. Not a big achievment for an ant, but a pretty impressive undertaking for todays nanostructures. I know a few mold makers who would like to set a few of these things loose inside of a high detail plastic mold to polish the hard to reach areas. They still have to be wired to a controler, but they can reach areas unreachable with conventional tools.
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Microbot Movies (QuickTime... erg)

[CrusadeR]

Here's a link to some QuickTime movies of Jager's "micromuscles" (they do play in xanim btw):

http://www.ifm.liu.se/Applphys/ConjPolym/research/ micromuscles/CPG_micromuscles.html

As pointed out by others, these mechanisms aren't quite small enough to be considered nanotechnology :)

More info:
http:/ /www.ifm.liu.se/Scientum/publications/artabstracts /99/edjagactu99.html

http://www.ifm.liu.se/~edjag/FS/edjag.ht ml

Re:do we need this?

[kauai_geek]

it'll put someone out of work?

Good!

the best thing about nanotech is not that it'll allow everyone to purchase super detailed mega-spiffy goods. The best thing about Nanotech is it will take every labor/ service related worker and throw them in the gutter. Where they belong!

Guess what waits for them in the gutter?

the general assembler. A nano-sized robot that can build a copy of itself from nearby available materials. "what does this mean for me as I am an idiot?" you might say. Imagine living without want. Imagine a future where materialism is long dead, anyone can build anything if they have the right plans for their general assembler(s). A future where information and ideas are the new currency. Sainthood to the first one to bring a single assembler to the poor slave laborers. Forever loved for freeing them from the slavery of trying to be a "productive" country, where labor is exchanged for goods & services.

In my vision, we have achieved eden. When the general Assembler hits, you'll find me in a boat 30 miles from the southern shores of Kauai, dropping a canister full of those little robots. Fsck your countries, all of them. I'll be more than happy to live out my life on my own personal paradise, where all I want is grown and controlled by me. If you'd like you can come and visit, perhaps live. Let me warn you though. My paradise involves long peeling waves that never seem to end (I can grow any kind of reef I want). Lots of the Herb growing plentifully everywhere. Don't worry about not being one of the beautiful people though.... I'll just mess with a few of your genes. it might feel a little odd for a while to shed excess fat directly onto the ground, to lose your "unattractive" features. You will enjoy it..