Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Medical Nanotubes Need Opening? Ask Raquel Welch
Medical nanotubes are just about ready for use in delivering minute quantities of medicine at exactly the right spot in the body, according to University of Florida scientists. There is just one problem. How do you remove the amino/aldehyde "cork" from the top of the tube? In science fiction, it would be easy - just ask Raquel Welch.
(Raquel Welch demonstrates her technical skills)
In the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, a hand-picked crew is placed inside a mini-submarine, reduced in size and then injected into the body of a dying science researcher. They must journey to a specific spot in the scientist's brain to administer a treatment. According to the novelization of the movie, by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, the people are roughly the size of a bacterium. At that scale, a person would be about 1000 nanometers tall.
University of Florida chemistry professor Charles Martin, along with five researchers, found a way to cap one end of a nanotube, creating the classic test tube shape, in 2004. Now, they have found a way to temporarily "cork" the other end, creating a miniaturized drug delivery system.
“After making the nano test tubes, we saw the potential for them to be used for drug delivery vehicles, but because they are open at one end it would be like trying to ship wine in a bottle without a cork,” said University of Florida chemistry professor Charles Martin. “You have to cork it, which is what we have accomplished.”
(From World’s tiniest test tubes get teensiest corks)
The researchers found that if they applied an amino chemical group to the mouth of the tubes, and an aldehyde chemical group to the corks, the two complementary groups would bind to each other, and seal the nanotube.
Medical nanotubes are approximately 80 nanometers (or about 80-billionths of a meter) in diameter; billions of them would fit on a postage stamp. Each tube can hold about five million drug molecules. And you don't need a miniature submarine to put the nanotubes right at the site of the problem. Unfortunately, it turns out that there is no easy way to unlock the amino chemical group from the aldehyde chemical group.
Now, if I'm doing my math correctly, that means that, to the miniaturized Raquel Welch, the nanotube would have (relatively speaking) about a four-inch diameter. So, opening the medical nanotube should be about as easy as opening a wide-mouthed jar of pickles, or opening a can of nuts. Yes, yes, I know; it's just a movie, and there are no nano-Welches.
Dr. Martin and the other researchers have come a long way, though; with the ingenuity displayed so far, I'm sure they will find a way to open the nanotubes. Even without Raquel.
If you are looking for more (nearly) science-fictional medical miracles, take a look at Remote control for humans, real-life bionic arms and lab mice that unexpectedly regenerate limbs and organs. Read more about corking nanotubes here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/10/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.' - Robert Heinlein, 1956
Brainoware Reservoir Computation Of Biological Neural Networks
'Head cheese. Cultured brains on a slab.' - Peter Watts, 1999.
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Octopus Suckers Inspire Transdermal Patches
'...a capsule which he placed against his wrist.' - Philip K. Dick, 1960.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
