ARE ROACHES ALL THAT BAD?
Who would have thought that roaches, that's right, C-O-C-K-R-O-A-C-H-E-S, could actually do something good for humanity? Well, it seems that they are helping out quite a lot.
Bar-Ilan University scientists, together with the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, designed injectable nanobots, and they are testing them on these little critters. Remarkably, the technology controls the release of drugs that are needed for the brain using the brain itself. That's right, using only brain power!
And down the road, this extra mind boost could be a lifesaver for many. The work was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
DNA Origami (Karolinska Institute)
ROBOTS IN YOUR BRAIN
These microscopic robots are equipped with iron oxide nanoparticles that act as "doors" to control the discharge of drugs that the brain needs. These doors can be manipulated through Ectroencephalography (EEG) controlled electromagnets. The electromagnets respond, and "open," when there is a specific brain pattern detected by the EEG. Notably, the EEG could be set to respond to an associated psychotic episode, so the bots will then release drugs to help the patient.
To that end, the team asserts that the nanobots can be very useful in helping with brain issues like schizophrenia or ADHD.
It's fascinating, also, to note that these nanobots are like DNA-Origami, which is very easy to control—they're not really like Hiro's innovative "microbots" from Big Hero 6, but still pretty cool.
However, to date, these methods aren't approved for human trials, which is where the roaches come in—the team is using them to perfect the technique.
Most of us have likely considered roaches "pests" our whole lives, but moving forward, maybe think twice before using that bug spray whenever you see them scurrying around the house.