Swarms of tiny nose robots could clear infected sinuses, researchers say
Swarms of tiny robots, each no larger than a speck of dust, could be deployed to cure stubborn infected sinuses before being blown out through the nose into a tissue, researchers have claimed.
The micro-robots are a fraction of the width of a human hair and have been inserted successfully into animal sinuses in pre-clinical trials by researchers at universities in China and Hong Kong.
Swarms are injected into the sinus cavity via a duct threaded through the nostril and guided to their target by electromagnetism, where they can be made to heat up and catalyse chemical reactions to wipe out bacterial infections. There are hopes the precisely targeted technology could eventually reduce reliance on antibiotics and other generalised medicines.
The tiny devices are part of the expanding field of micro- and nano-robots for use in medicine. They have also been developed to deliver drugs and to remove bacteria from medical implants such as stents and hernia meshes.
Experts believe they could be in clinical use for treating infections in bladders, intestines and sinuses in five to 10 years. Scientists in China, Switzerland, the US and the UK are developing more sophisticated versions capable of moving through the bloodstream.
The latest development came from a collaboration of academics at the Chinese University in Hong Kong, and universities in Guangxi, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Yangzhou and Macau.
Researchers in the emerging field acknowledge risks include some of the tiny micro-robots being left behind after treatment which could cause longer-term side effects. Another potential problem, cited by technology experts, is public suspicion at the thought of welcoming robots into the human body and conspiracy theories arising around fears the robots could be activated without consent.
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.
The study, published in Nature Robotics, showed the robots were capable of eradicating bacteria from pig sinuses and could clear infections in live rabbits with 'no obvious tissue damage'.
The researchers have produced a model of how the technology could work on a human being, with the robot swarms being deployed in operating theatre conditions, allowing doctors to see their progress by using X-rays. Future applications could include tackling bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, stomach, intestine, bladder and urethra, they suggested.
'Our proposed micro-robotic therapeutic platform offers the advantages of non-invasiveness, minimal resistance, and drug-free intervention,' they said.
Prof Sylvain Martel, director of the Nano Robotics Laboratory at the Polytechnique de Montréal in Canada, who was not involved in the research, said the science seemed effective.
'It's like a rocket that you can direct with a magnetic field,' he said.
He predicted micro-robots could be available for treatments in three to five years but possibly not for another decade, as regulators still need to approve their use and the manufacturing processes, which differ from those of standard pharmaceuticals.
'The main advantage with micro-robots is the targeting,' Martel said. 'Instead of taking medicine that goes into the bloodstream and a small quantity goes to the right location, you can target.'
He said the public would soon set aside any fears over the idea of having robotic devices in their bodies.
'Maybe at the beginning [they will be afraid],' he said. 'But they will get used to it pretty quickly.'
Dr Andrea Soltoggio, a reader in artificial intelligence at Loughborough University, said: 'The public may be suspicious about non-biological objects like nano-robots being inserted into our bodies. It may even trigger conspiracy theories.
'But it is important to look at what nano-robots are designed for. In this case, we see an example of a targeted intervention to reduce or eradicate an infection with a localised action.
'Nano-robots' behaviour is often simpler and more targeted than many drugs and they could effectively complement a wide range of therapies.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Womb lining test offers miscarriage hope to women
UK scientists say they have developed a test which can help identify women with an abnormal womb lining that increases their risk of say their work could pave the way for new treatments for those going through repeated pregnancy loss. In some women with a history of miscarriage, the womb lining doesn't react the way it should - transforming into a supportive place for the embryo to implant, the Warwick University team say the findings could help provide an explanation, in some cases, for the trauma and devastation of recurrent miscarriage. Around one in six of all pregnancies are lost, most before twelve weeks, and each miscarriage increases the risk of another one happening. To date, most research in this area has focused on the quality of the embryo, with much less known about the role of the womb lining. Dr Jo Muter, study author and researcher at Warwick Medical School, said: "Many women are told they've just had 'bad luck', but our findings show that the womb itself may be setting the stage for pregnancy loss, even before conception takes place."The job of the womb lining is to receive the embryo and help it develop during pregnancy, thanks to a reaction which converts cells into a different, supportive state. But when that reaction is messed up and doesn't fully happen, the risk of bleeding and early pregnancy a woman has had one faulty reaction, she is more likely to have another, the researchers say. They've developed a new test which can measure signs of a healthy or defective reaction in the womb lining, which is being piloted to help more than 1,000 patients at Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research at University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW). 'A tiny miracle' Charlie Beattie, 37, had countless early miscarriages over the course of four years, to the point where "a positive pregnancy test wasn't exciting any more", she and her husband Sam, from Leamington Spa, felt devastated and resigned to considering other options for having a they found out about at a trial taking place at the miscarriage research had a sample of her womb taken, and the new test showed it was not "hospitable for babies", she taking the drug sitagliptin for three months, she had a pregnancy which finally stuck - and nine-week-old June is the joyful result."She's a tiny miracle. It doesn't feel real," says admits being anxious all the way through her pregnancy until June was safely in her the pregnancy scans were a new experience."We'd never seen anything on a scan before that moved," she says. "When they said 'I can see it, it's in the right place', we both burst into tears." Anyone can refer themselves to the clinic, but it has a long waiting list and funding issues mean patients must contribute to the cost of the test. Dr Jyotsna Vohra, director of research at Tommy's, said care and treatment for those who experience pregnancy or baby loss varied unacceptably across the UK. "There should be no barriers to accessing any test or treatment that has been proven to make a difference. "We hope NHS decision-makers will look carefully at the results of the Coventry pilot project and consider rolling this test out nationwide, so that everyone who might benefit has that opportunity."Dr Muter says the next step is to use the test to assess potential drug treatments. Sitagliptin, usually used to treat diabetes, is the go-to option for womb lining issues but there may be other existing drugs which can be repurposed, she 80% of drugs not tested on pregnant women, it's unclear which ones might be effective.
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Reuters
With a primitive canoe, scientists replicate prehistoric seafaring
June 25 (Reuters) - Our species arose in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago and later trekked worldwide, eventually reaching some of Earth's most remote places. In doing so, our ancestors surmounted geographic barriers including treacherous ocean expanses. But how did they do that with only rudimentary technology available to them? Scientists now have undertaken an experimental voyage across a stretch of the East China Sea, paddling from Ushibi in eastern Taiwan to Japan's Yonaguni Island in a dugout canoe to demonstrate how such a trip may have been accomplished some 30,000 years ago as people spread to various Pacific Islands. The researchers simulated methods Paleolithic people would have used and employed replicas of tools from that prehistoric time period such as an axe and a cutting implement called an adze in fashioning the 25-foot-long (7.5-meter) canoe, named Sugime, from a Japanese cedar tree chopped down at Japan's Noto Peninsula. A crew of four men and one woman paddled the canoe on a voyage lasting more than 45 hours, traveling roughly 140 miles (225 km) across the open sea and battling one of the world's strongest ocean currents, the Kuroshio. The crew endured extreme fatigue and took a break for several hours while the canoe drifted at sea, but managed to complete a safe crossing to Yonaguni. Just as prehistoric people would have, the voyagers navigated by the sun and stars, as well as the direction of the ocean swells, though for safety's sake they were accompanied by two escort craft. Yonaguni is part of the Ryukyu chain of islands stretching from Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, down to Taiwan. The researchers previously failed with attempted crossings using reed rafts and then bamboo rafts, finding that they were too slow, insufficiently durable and unable to overcome the strong ocean current. "Through the project with many failures, we have learned the difficulties of crossing the ocean, and this experience gave us a deep respect for our Paleolithic ancestors," said University of Tokyo anthropologist Yousuke Kaifu, lead author of the study published on Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, opens new tab. "We found that the Paleolithic people could cross the sea with the strong ocean current if they had dugout canoes and were skillful, experienced paddlers and navigators. They had to face the risk of being drifted by the strong ocean current and the possibility that they would never be able to come back to their homeland," added Kaifu, who was aboard one of the escort boats. Archeological evidence indicates that people approximately 30,000 years ago first crossed from Taiwan to some of the Ryukyu islands, which include Okinawa. But scientists had puzzled over how they could do this with the rudimentary technology of the time - no maps, no metal tools and only primitive vessels. And the Kuroshio current, comparable in strength to the Gulf Stream off Mexico, presented a particular challenge. The research was in the vein of the famous 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition in which Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl carried out a much longer journey by raft from South America across the Pacific to the Polynesian islands. Heyerdahl aimed to show how prehistoric people from the Americas could have colonized Polynesia. "His theory is now countered by a series of pieces of evidence, but it was a great trial at the time. Compared to the time of the Kon-Tiki, we have more archeological and other evidence to build realistic models" of prehistoric voyages, Kaifu said. The researchers in a companion study, opens new tab published in the same journal used simulations of sea conditions between Taiwan and Yonaguni 30,000 years ago to examine whether such a crossing was attainable at a time when the Kuroshio was even more powerful than today. "As our paleo-ocean model simulation showed, crossing the Kuroshio was possible in ancient times, so I believe they achieved it," said physical oceanographer and study lead author Yu-Lin Chang of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. "However, ocean conditions were highly variable. Thus, ancient people may have encountered unpredictable weather conditions during their journey, which could have led to failure," Chang added.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Small fish and chips? Cod have shrunk by almost 50% over the last 30 years, study warns
As we near the end of the week, many of Brits will be looking forward to 'fish and chip Friday'. But it's bad news for those who've got their heart set on a large portion. While cod used to be giants – over a metre in length and weighing up to 40kg – today a fully-grown cod can fit neatly on a dinner plate. In fact, the body length of the tasty fish has decreased by 48 per cent – nearly half – since 1996, experts have warned. The shrinking population, in terms of both number and in size, is the result of human influence, they found. In their new study, scientists have demonstrated for the first time that decades of intense fishing, combined with environmental change, have profoundly affected the genetic make-up of a fully marine species. Their analysis involved 152 cod caught in the Bornholm Basin in the Baltic Sea, between 1996 and 2019. They worked out how the size of cod has changed over the years, and found it had decreased significantly. Analysis showed that while the largest fish caught in 1996 measured 115cm long, the largest in 2019 measured just 54cm long. They also found that the length at which 50 per cent of the population reached maturity has declined from 40cm to 20cm. Cod that grow slowly but reach reproductive maturity at a smaller size have had a survival advantage under high fishing pressure, the researchers explained. 'When the largest individuals are consistently removed from the population over many years, smaller, faster-maturing fish gain an evolutionary advantage,' Professor Thorsten Reusch, from the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, said. 'What we are observing is evolution in action, driven by human activity. This is scientifically fascinating, but ecologically deeply concerning.' The researchers also identified genetic changes that confirm the 'shrinking' of cod has a genetic basis and that human activities have left a measurable mark on their DNA. 'Selective overexploitation has altered the genome of Eastern Baltic cod,' Dr Kwi Young Han, first author of the study, said. 'We see this in the significant decline in average size, which we could link to reduced growth rates. 'For the first time in a fully marine species, we have provided evidence of evolutionary changes in the genomes of a fish population subjected to intense exploitation, which has pushed the population to the brink of collapse.' The team warned that the evolutionary consequences of this could be severe. It could mean that the fish are less able to adapt under future environmental changes, they explained. 'Evolutionary change unfolds over many generations,' Professor Reusch said. 'Recovery takes far longer than decline, and it may not even be possible.' There has been a ban on targeted cod fishing in certain parts of the Baltic Sea since 2019, but 'there's no sign of a rebound in body size', the researchers said. While the UK gets most of its cod from the Barents Sea and the waters around Iceland, overfishing in these areas could potentially lead to similar effects. Writing in the journal Science Advances the team said their findings 'underscore implications for conservation policy'. Experts have previously urged Brits to ditch white, flaky fish like cod in favour of more local varieties such as herring and mackerel. Dr Anna Sturrock, from the University of Essex, said we should opt for species more common to our own waters instead of importing the likes of cod and haddock from other countries. Separately, a report from the WWF has called for 'urgent' efforts to strengthen regulation of the seafood sector amid concerns our love for seafood is killing off dozens of species that rely on it for food. The report, titled 'Risky Seafood Business', quantified the total volume of seafood eaten by Britons for the first time. It claimed that in 2019, 887,000 tonnes of seafood was eaten by people in the UK – the equivalent of 5.2 billion portions of fish and chips. Whitefish, including fish and chip favourites haddock and cod, accounted for almost a third of the fish consumed (29 per cent). The vast majority (81 per cent) of this seafood was fished or farmed outside of UK waters, according to WWF. The likes of whales, dolphins, seabirds and sharks have been directly impacted by fisheries supplying UK markets, the report warned, as one of their main food sources is being depleted. Top tips to help you choose the most sustainable seafood Use these five MAGIC tips to help you choose the most sustainable seafood: Mix it up 80% of the seafood we eat in the UK is made up of five species: cod, haddock, salmon, tuna and prawns. This puts a lot of pressure on a handful of species - but dozens of different species are caught and farmed in and around the UK. Why not mix it up and try something new? Avoid red rated Red-rated seafood has significant environmental concerns and should be avoided. The species could be endangered; there could be very damaging methods of fishing or farming; or there could be illegal activity involved in catching or farming it. Good Fish Guide Choosing sustainable seafood can be confusing - that's why we developed the Good Fish Guide. We do the hard work for you, making it easier to make the right choice. Save our app to your home screen and discover the best sustainable swaps while you're eating out or shopping. Impact Look for low-impact fishing and farming methods to prevent significant harm to marine species and habitats. More environmentally-friendly methods include pots, hand-diving, or pole and line fishing. Check for ecolabels Certified seafood usually has to meet stricter requirements for minimising environmental impact and tracking exactly where it has come from and how it was caught or farmed. The Marine Stewardship Council 'blue tick' is probably the most well-known, which covers wild seafood. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council certifies the sustainability of farmed seafood. Other eco-labels to look out for include GlobalG.A.P., Global Aquaculture Association Best Aquaculture Practices, Organic, and Soil Association.
