TINY ROBOTS CAN TRACK DOWN AND KILL CANCER CELLS

The sci-fi future we’ve been waiting for is almost here.

Tiny robots that can target and kill cancer cells have been created by scientists in an exciting breakthrough for future treatments.

The nanorobots work by activating the cell’s ‘death receptors’, helping to shrink tumours.

However, because all cells have death receptors, the challenge has been finding a ‘kill switch’, ensuring the nanorobots only target the cancer.

The team, from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, had previously discovered how to create miniscule robots made of amino acids that could be injected and activate death receptors.

Think the 1987 cult classic Innerspace, but without a tiny Dennis Quaid at the controls.

Further testing on mice revealed the robots helped shrink breast cancer tumours by up to 70% compared to those given an inactive version.

First author Yang Wang said: ‘We now need to investigate whether this works in more advanced cancer models that more closely resemble the real human disease.

‘We also need to find out what side effects the method has before it can be tested on humans.’

The team also hopes to make the nanorobots even more specific and able to target certain types of cancer.

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2024-07-01T15:30:48Z dg43tfdfdgfd