BBC Knowledge Asia Edition 3

Near the South Pole, the United States Antarctic

Program has been trialling drones to map the

changing sea ice. The UAV that took this picture

was paired with an autonomous sub below the

ice. This allowed a team to produce a photo

mosaic of an ice field out of 500-1,000 images

carbon that can be made into sheets just one atom thick.

These sheets can be used to make tiny atom ic-scale shapes

such as hollow tubes and spheres, and metals with unusual

properties can be embedded within them. But scientists are

increasingly focusing efforts on ‘soft’ nanomedicines –

particles made from biological materials like proteins, fats

and DNA. This research takes its inspiration from the

complex molecules made within all cells, many of which

perform highly specific jobs and could therefore be

considered ‘natural nanomachines’ themselves.

“Nanobots made from shiny metal are actually pretty far

off still – I’m not sure that

route is really going

anywhere,” says Prof

Hendrik Dietz, head of

the Laboratory for

Biomolecular

Nanotechnology in

Munich. “We adapt or mimic the methods used to

assemble functional molecules in nature. We are looking to

do chemistry how our bodies do it, by building enzymes or

drug-delivery vehicles that are smarter than current

pharmaceutical methods.”

DNA, especially, has proven to be the perfect material

for scientists looking to build functional objects on a tiny

scale. Rather than trying to manufacture components,

scientists create a length of DNA with a particular genetic

sequence. The way the different subunits of the strand

interact with each other causes it to fold itself into high ly

predictable two- and three-dimensional shapes as it is

formed. The longer the lengths of DNA, the more complex

the shapes that can be formed.

Manipulating DNA in this way is known as ‘DNA origami’

and has been used to create objects such as tiny walk ing

machines, boxes that open and close, and self-destructing

drug-delivery vehicles. It may be some time before this

YOUR FUTURE DOCTOR

COULD THIS BE HOW NANOPARTICLES KEEP US HEALTHY IN 2050?

“Viruses can arguably

be seen as nature’s

nanomachines”

1. Nanobots that
   detect signs of
   common diseases
   are injected into
   the blood soon
   after birth.


2. Signs of cystic
   fibrosis are
   detected. A
   modified virus
   ‘infects’ cells with
   gene-editing
   technology,
   repairing the
   genes that cause
   the disease.
   3. On developing
   diabetes at 30,
   light-sensitive,
   insulin-producing
   quantum dots are
   injected into the
   body. To top up
   insulin levels
   during the day, a
   special torch is
   shone onto the
   blood vessels on
   the wrist, where
   the skin is thin.
   4. At 60, a scan
   reveals weak

fluorescent light

being emitted

from deep in the

lymph nodes.

Nanobots are

reacting with

molecules found

in cancer cells to

signal the

disease’s

presence.

5. To combat the
   cancer, more
   nanobots are
   injected into the
   body. They

accumulate in the

tumour, making

the cancerous

tissue glow.

Surgeons can

then safely

remove the tissue

without the risk of

damaging healthy

flesh. Other

nanobots are then

released into the

body which send

powerful

anti-cancer drugs

directly into the

cancer cells.

6. At age 90,
   DNA-based
   nanobots
   constantly repair
   the age-related
   damage to brain
   cells that can
   lead to
   degenerative
   conditions.
   Others scan the
   DNA in each cell
   to ensure it is
   functioning just
   as it used to
   when the body
   was younger.

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ALTH Y IN 20 50?

in the

king

us

an

tissue

risk of

ealthy

6. At age 90,
   DNA-based
   nanobots
   constantly repair
   the age-related
   damage to brain
   cells that can
   leadto
   degenerative

PHOTOS: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY X5, ISTOCK X3

Tennis ball

Optical microscope Unaided eye

Cancer cell Human hair 40,000 DNA nanobots Baked bean

would fit on this full stop

Cancercell

.

10,000nm 100,000nm 1,000,000nm 10,000,000nm 100,000,000nm