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Monday, November 29, 2010

Messenger Bacteria Could 'Tweet' Directions to Nanobots : Discovery News

Messenger Bacteria Could 'Tweet' Directions to Nanobots : Discovery News: "Okay, this one's a little complicated, but super cool. So, hang with me.

Doctors would really like to fight diseases such a cancer in precise, directed ways. That means delivering cancer-killing therapies to ugly cells, while leaving healthy cells alone. One way that could happen in the future is by using super tiny robots -- nanobots -- that work together inside the body like an infantry of warriors armed to battle cancer.

But there are some big challenges. Among them, communication. Like any battlefield army, soldiers need to coordinate their attacks. And nanobots, in theory, would have a difficult time. They can't use nano-sized cell phones, for example, because radio signals don't travel through liquids. (What about sonar? Has anyone looked into nano-sonar?) And chemical forms of communications only seem to work over long distances."

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