This robot made of algae can swim through your body

Researchers have adapted a miniature alga
you’re probably more familiar with
as a dietary supplement--
Spirulina platensis-- and turned it into
a tiny swimming robot.
For decades engineers have tried to build
medical robots that can deliver drugs
or perform surgery inside the human body.
But powering these tiny machines has been a challenge,
since most potential fuels are toxic to the body.
And even if you can get them moving,
how do you steer?
In this case, researchers turned to magnetism.
The team developed a one-step method
for magnetization by dipping millions of Spirulina
into iron-oxide nanoparticles.
They’re dipped for certain durations to allow
the alga’s natural fluorescent glow to remain visible
under fluorescence microscopes.
Now, a magnetic field can move
the magnetized Spirulina through a body.
The spiral shape of Spirulina makes it ideal
for this type of control -- by manipulating it
with magnets it can be twirled forward or backward.
When the magnetic micro-swimmer gets too deep
for its fluorescence to be detected,
then the team can rely on magnetic resonance imaging
to track it.
The microbot degrades in hours or days,
depending on the thickness of the magnetic coating,
yet doesn’t damage most cells, with one exception--
cancer cells.
When exposed to the microbots here in red,
only 10% of cancer cells lasted 48 hours.
Tests indicate Spirulina produces a compound
that’s toxic just to cancer cells.
Even though researchers have created a mini bio-hybrid
that can be steered and tracked,
there’s a lot more work to be done before these
tiny machines are ready for doctors to use.
Next, the team will try to get the microbots
to carry and deliver cargo, such as life-saving drugs.
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This robot made of algae can swim through your body

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