Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon
Dorrier, Jason. "Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon." Singularity HUB. Singularity University, 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2015. <http://singularityhub.com/2015/01/08/can-dna-nanobots-successfully-treat-cancer-patient-first-human-trial-soon/>.
If someone could make a miniature robot that can test to see whether a single cell is cancerous and makes the cancerous cells commit suicide they would be able to cure cancer. Such robots seem like a thing of the future but in reality they already exist today. Using DNA scientist are able to create little nanobots that can test to see whether a certain protein that only exist in cancer cells is on the outside of the cell and if the protein is there the robot injects fragments into the cell with instructions to destroy themselves. DNA is used for these nanobots because the structure of the DNA's base pairs makes it possible to create many different shapes of extremely small structures. The insides are very complex but they basically function by having a lot of AND and XOR gates to test whether the bot should open and dispense the cell-killing insides. Soon a patient with leukemia who is expected to die this summer will be given DNA nanobots. If this experiment works it could revolutionize the search for the cure to cancer, as it kills all the cancer cells without harming the regular cells.
This is relates to what we learned about the DNA structure. The nanobots can be made only because of the small size of the DNA and the base pairs. With the structure of the base pairs scientist can make the strands stick to themselves to make structures. The DNA can be made into a container with one opening that is tied together with two strands of DNA that untie if a certain protein is nearby, making a AND gate. Also, using four different nanobots they made a XOR gate, one to tell if both proteins are nearby, forcing the gate closed and two for the separate proteins to open the gate. With both the AND and the XOR gates, scientist are able to make something as complex as a computer, all at the scale of DNA. Only DNA, with it's base pairings, it's size and it's ability to store knowledge would be able to make this possible.
Do you know how they make these robots? Could this form of treatment be cost efficient in the future?
ReplyDeleteThe robots are made by linking different sized DNA strands and being heated. When it cools the DNA strands stick together making different 3D shapes. It is not to expensive as once they know what DNA to use all they have to pay for is the DNA that is used. It is so cost efficient that it is possible that once it has been thoroughly tested it could be used during routine checkups to see if the patients have cancer.
DeleteHow is the patient given the nanobots?
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is injected into the blood stream like any other medicine.
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