Algae Can Carry Cargo

Steve Nixon writes "Recently, a team of scientists devised a way to make single-celled algae bear loads over distances of several centimeters--a tactic that the researchers say could prove useful in tiny machines. Algae and other single-celled organisms power their movements with molecular motors. 'Scientists have long coveted these motors for use in micromachinery,' notes chemist Douglas B. Weibel of Harvard University.

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Interview

[Horizon_99]

There is an interview with chemist George Whitesides, one of the authors of the paper in question, at sciencefriday.com for those interested.

Some of you have missed the point entirely

[gt384u]

It's not a matter of "Gee, what is this good for?" If you explore more of Whitesides' research, a lot of his work is very much in the realm of 'proof-of-concept'. I've had the pleasure to hear him speak before on his research in self-assembly and it's astounding what some of the systems his students have devised can do. Check his research out here. The one project that astounded me in particular was self-assembly of functioning electronic devices using nothing but hydrophobic interactions. Wickedly cool.

To be honest, this particular piece of research is almost a footnote in his career. Most of the things he does will never end up in something the average person ever comes into contact with, but the salient ideas will change the landscape of technology 20 years down the road. If you're at all interested in nanoscience, this is a guy to watch.