Microrobots made from heart muscle cells, nanobots next

Nano robots that could crawl around inside the human body to monitor and treat our ailing bodies have always been the stuff of myth and legend. However a major step in that direction has been achieved. Microrobots have now been made in South Korea that utilize heart muscle cells to propel themselves though water and possibly human vasculature. While this is currently only a landmark achievement, there are many possible applications of such a machine. These crab-like robots could crawl throughout the body using its three front and back legs, clearing clogged arteries, or releasing medication in specialized ways. They made the "robot" by "growing heart muscle tissue from a rat onto tiny robotic skeletons made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)." And the scientists measured the robot's average speed at about 100 micrometers per second. You can find a video of it moving under a microscope in the link.

Sources: Sarah Corcoran, Chemical Science, UK, August 31, 2007.

The publishing magazine's URL: http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemScience/Volume/2007/10/robots_with_a_heart.asp
Video of the robot: http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/LC/b7/b705367c/b705367c.avi