Chinese scientists (of course) have reportedly built nano-scale robots that can move through the sinus canal, clearing blockages and killing infection-causing bacteria.
The study was published in Science Robotics.
Here's how the little buggers work.
The latest breakthrough, based on animal rather than human trials, involves magnetic particles ‘doped' with copper atoms which clinicians insert with a catheter before guiding to their target under a magnetic field.
The swarms can be heated up by reacting to light from an optical fibre that is also inserted into the body as part of the therapy. This allows the micro-robots to loosen up and penetrate viscous pus that forms a barrier to the infection site. The light source also prompts the micro-robots to disrupt bacterial cell walls and release reactive oxygen species that kill the bacteria.
So far, the bots have only been deployed in animal trials, but they've had a pretty good success rate.
The robots were capable of eradicating bacteria from pig sinuses and could clear infections in live rabbits with "no obvious tissue damage".
Of course, there are some drawbacks to the nano-bots.
One big one is that there's no way to ensure that they're all removed once they're in there, which the researchers admit could lead to future unforeseen complications.
They also say a major hurdle they face is people's fear of injecting tiny machines up their nose.
(You think?)
But there are scientists building even more complicated nano-bots that are capable of navigating the bloodstream, and some can self-replicate indefinitely.
These crazy scientists are giddy with the idea that we'll one day replace all our medicine with nanobots, making repairs and fighting disease. Former Google engineer Ray Kurzweil, who has been remarkably accurate in his technology predictions, thinks they will extend our lives indefinitely by 2031.
(Because nothing bad ever happens in sci-fi when men use machines to try and achieve immortality!)
If I'm honest, just thinking about nanobots crawling around inside me makes me itchy all over.
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