Nobel prize in chemistry goes to inventors of world's smallest machines

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists for their contributions to creating the world's smallest machine, which is 1,000 times smaller than a single strand of human hair. While this molecular motor is still in the early stages of development, it could become the foundation for miniature technology such as new materials, sensors, energy storage systems, and robots. Google's next big step for AI: Getting robots to teach each other new skills Robots haven't reached human intelligence yet, but Google's researchers are showing how they're closing the gap. The concept of making machines on the nanoscale has been around since the 1950s, but it took decades of experiments for scientists to achieve the milestones that brought the idea into the real world. Throughout this time, researchers have been inspired by something called bacterial flagella, microscopic "engines" that are found in nature.