Nano-Robots That Compute With DNA Installed Into Living Cockroach
DNA Richard Wheeler via Wikimedia Commons Scientists have inserted DNA-based nanobots into a living cockroach, which are able to perform logical operations. Researchers say the nanobots could eventually be able to carry out complex programs, to diagnose and treat disease. These DNA machines (or origami robots, so-called since they can unfold and deliver drugs stored within) carry fluorescent markers, allowing researchers to tell where in the roach's body they are traveling and what they are doing. Incredibly, the "accuracy of delivery and control of the nanobots is equivalent to a computer system," New Scientist reported. A study describing the advance was published this week in Nature Nanotechnology. The nanobots can interact with one another, and were shown to be able to perform simple logical operations, for example releasing a molecule stored within upon command. Or, as the researchers put it: "The interactions generate...