The age of fusing man and machine could be closer than we thought as nanosubs are developed capable of swimming in the human body.
Scientists at Rice University have developed the nano "submarines". These are 244 atoms in size and have motors that are powered by ultraviolet light.
The little vessels' motors can turn over at one million RPM meaning they can move along at a blistering one inch per second. Lab director James Tour says: "These are the fastest-moving molecules ever seen in solution".
The plan is to use the tech to deliver drugs to specific parts of the body. This is helpful when delivering a drug that could be harmful to some of the body but helpful in certain areas. Unfortunately that can't really happen until a method to aim these speedy subs has been developed.
The propulsion method was first developed by a Dutch lab nearly a decade ago. It works when a molecule is hit by the ultraviolet light causing a double-bond to become a single, making a quarter turn, then another quarter in search of its previous state. This process repeats to hit that one million revolutions per minute speed, as long as the light is on.
Don’t expect this tech to appear in human bodies anytime soon but it's exciting to see a big step in that direction has been taken.