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science3h ago
Microrobots that could heal spinal injuries
- Researchers at ETH Zurich developed microrobots made from spinal stem cells linked to magnetic nanoparticles to target spinal injuries.
- In zebrafish and mice, the microrobots were injected and showed near-complete recovery of movement within days to weeks.
- The team demonstrated neural differentiation and motor improvements in mice with spinal injuries after treatment.
- Scientists envision expanding the approach to wound healing and safer oncology treatments.
- The research notes that full human testing remains a long way off.
- The microrobots are about six micrometers wide, smaller than a red blood cell.
- Each microrobot combines a spinal stem cell with nanoparticles that respond to magnets and convert signals to electrical pulses.
- The study was published in Nature Materials and conducted by the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich.
- Researchers highlighted the potential for scalable, reproducible production using a lab-on-a-chip system.
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