Cell-sized robots

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Researchers from the University of Toronto, Aaron Wheeler and Shuailong Zhang, have demonstrated a novel and non-invasive way to manipulate cells through microrobotics. Read the study in the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences:
read it here..

Read more about this research here..

rotary molecular motor:

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have made the first reversible synthetic molecular motor.


Like the molecular motors found throughout biology (e.g. to move muscles, power mechanical motion and pump ions), the synthetic motor works by capturing random displacements that occur during Brownian motion and directionally releasing them.

The system consists of a small ring mechanically locked onto a larger ring – a [2]catenane. The small ring can be made to move around the larger one by applying a series of chemical reactions. Remarkably, the sense of rotation (clockwise or counter-clockwise) is governed solely by the order in which these reactions are carried out.

The motor consists of two mechanically interlocked rings; the larger ring can be considered a track for the smaller ring (shown in blue) to move around. The smaller ring starts on the green ‘station’ (the bottom right structure, I).


Shining with ultra-violet light causes a chemical reaction that switches off the ‘stickiness’ of the station meaning the blue ring wants to move to the orange station, however it is unable to do so because bulky groups (shown in purple and red) block both routes to the orange station

Prof David Leigh's website: http://catenane.net
The University of Manchester

1 of 5 :: microbots

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2 of 4  :: smallest robots

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3 OF 5 :: Nanobot - TIM BLAIS the HARMONY ADDICT is at it again!

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4 OF 5 :: Nanobots and Creativity

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5 OF 5 :: MOLECULAR ROTARY MOTOR