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Bacteria can be used to power a micro-sized robot by propelling it in a certain direction. This is remarkable enough, but now engineers and microbiologists have managed to fully control the direction and avoid obstacles on the way.
The devices in question are called “bio-robots” and they are essentially a computer chips coated with motile bacteria (motile because they possess flagella, which act as propellers – the bacterium used is called Serratia marcescens). The idea of the bio-chips is to deliver medicine to cells in the human body.
This is very encouraging. I was reminded of how outdated medical practices are during my last physical. It really is shocking that fingers are still used for prostate exams. Seriously, that is how far medical technology has come in the last 100 years? FINGERS!!?!?!?!? And don't get me started on colonoscopies......
How far off can a nanobot that we can shallow that will do a complete medical diagnostic from one end to another? Hopefully before my next physical or I will be changing to a petite female general practitioner.
Daniel, suspect someone will always find the incentive to put a finger up our ass, so i would go with your idea, the petite female.
But Actually there is a lot of potential for technologies that can detect proteins at minute quantities(there's even a machine that can count proteins,one by one , relatively affordably) , or a large set(hundreds of thousands) of proteins(or protein fractions) affordably. And there's some research illustrating the way from such technologies to very early cancer detection.
I hope one day before going to the doctor , you'd do a painless blood test, and with results you'd tell the doctor - "i have X".
