Motile nanosized particles, or "nanobots", promise more effective and less toxic targeted drug delivery because of their unique scale and precision. We consider the case in which the cancer is "diffuse", dispersed such that there are multiple distinct cancer sites. We investigate the problem of a swarm of nanobots locating these sites and treating them by dropping drug payloads at the sites. To improve the success of the treatment, the drug payloads must be allocated between sites according to their "demands"; this requires extra nanobot coordination. We present a mathematical model of the behavior of the nanobot agents and of their colloidal environment. This includes a movement model for agents based upon experimental findings from actual nanoparticles in which bots noisily ascend and descend chemical gradients. We present three algorithms: The first algorithm, called KM, is the most representative of reality, with agents simply following naturally existing chemical signals that surround each cancer site. The second algorithm, KMA, includes an additional chemical payload which amplifies the existing natural signals. The third algorithm, KMAR, includes another additional chemical payload which counteracts the other signals, instead inducing negative chemotaxis in agents such that they are repelled from sites that are already sufficiently treated. We present simulation results for all algorithms across different types of cancer arrangements. For KM, we show that the treatment is generally successful unless the natural chemical signals are weak, in which case the treatment progresses too slowly. For KMA, we demonstrate a significant improvement in treatment speed but a drop in eventual success, except for concentrated cancer patterns. For KMAR, our results show great performance across all types of cancer patterns, demonstrating robustness and adaptability.

Deploying motile nanosized particles, also known as ``nanobots'', in the human body promises to improve selectivity in drug delivery and reduce side effects. We consider a swarm of nanobots locating a single cancerous region and treating it by releasing an onboard payload of drugs at the site. At nanoscale, the computation, communication, sensing, and locomotion capabilities of individual agents are extremely limited, noisy, and/or nonexistent. We present a general model to formally describe the individual and collective behavior of agents in a colloidal environment, such as the bloodstream, for cancer detection and treatment by nanobots. This includes a feasible and precise model of agent locomotion, inspired by actual nanoparticles that, in the presence of an external chemical gradient, move towards areas of higher concentration by means of self-propulsion. We present two variants of our general model: The first assumes an endogenous chemical gradient that is fixed over time and centered at the targeted cancer site; the second is a more speculative and dynamic variant in which agents themselves create and amplify a chemical gradient centered at the cancer site. In both settings, agents can sense the gradient and ascend it noisily, locating the cancer site more quickly than via simple Brownian motion. For the first variant of the model, we present simulation results to show the behavior of agents under our locomotion model, as well as {analytical results} to bound the time it takes for the agents to reach the cancer site. For the second variant, simulation results highlight the collective benefit in having agents issue their own chemical signal. While arguably more speculative in its agent capability assumptions, this variant shows a significant improvement in runtime performance over the first variant, resulting from its chemical signal amplification mechanism.

By 2030, rapid technological advancements are expected to reshape humanity, unlocking abilities once confined to science fiction--from superhuman strength to enhanced senses. Robotic exoskeletons may soon allow people to lift heavy objects with ease, while AI-powered wearables, such as smart glasses and earbuds, could provide real-time information and immersive augmented reality experiences. Healthcare may be revolutionized by microscopic nanobots capable of repairing tissue and fighting disease from within the bloodstream, potentially extending human lifespans. Developers are also working on contact lenses with infrared vision and devices that allow users to "feel" digital objects, paving the way for entirely new ways to experience the world. Tech pioneers like former Google engineer Ray Kurzweil believe these innovations are early steps toward the merging of humans and machines, with brain-computer interfaces offering direct access to digital intelligence.

Tiny magnetic robot armies could treat bleeds in the brain and'open new frontiers in medicine', experts have found. Researchers have created nanoscale robots – each about a twentieth of the size of a red blood cell – that can be remotely guided as a swarm. It is hoped they could enable precise, low-risk treatment of brain aneurisms, which cause around half a million deaths a year globally. The condition – a blood-filled bulge on a brain artery that can rupture and cause fatal bleeds – can also lead to stroke and disability. The team, co-led by the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, carried out lab tests using models of aneurisms and rabbits.

We are now in the later stages of the first generation of life extension, which involves applying the current class of pharmaceutical and nutritional knowledge to overcoming health challenges. In the 2020s we are starting the second phase of life extension, which is the merger of biotechnology with AI. The 2030s will usher in the third phase of life extension, which will be to use nanotechnology to overcome the limitations of our biological organs altogether. As we enter this phase, we'll greatly extend our lives, allowing people to far transcend the normal human limit of 120 years. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission.

Nanorobots that move through the bloodstream could reduce cancerous tumors in the bladder by 90 percent. In a potential breakthrough, scientists in Barcelona created tiny 450-nanometer-sized robots that deliver therapeutic directly to the growth. Bladder cancer is the one of the common type of cancer in men and while it has a low mortality rate nearly all tumors return within five years. In a study on mice, researchers showed that the tiny machines could eliminate the need for multiple tumor treatments by reducing the tumor after one try. Current treatments for bladder cancer include surgery and chemotherapy, which can cost more than 65,000.

Nanoscale "robots" made of DNA that rapidly self-replicate could be harnessed to manufacture drugs or other chemicals inside the body, say researchers. Feng Zhou at New York University and his colleagues created the tiny machines, which are just 100 nanometres across, using four strands of DNA. The nanorobots are held in a solution with these DNA-strand raw materials, which they arrange into copies of themselves one at a time by using their own structure as a scaffold. The team didn't respond to a request for comment, but say in their paper that their nanobots are capable of exponential reproduction. Andrew Surman at King's College London, who wasn't involved in the research, says that the nanobots are a step forward in creating machines from DNA that could manufacture drugs or chemicals, or even act as rudimentary robots or computers.

Gene-edited bacteriophages, or viruses that attack bacteria, can make potentially dangerous microbes in food and water glow so they are easier to detect. In the United States and the United Kingdom, drinking water must contain no Escherichia coli bacteria, which can cause food-poisoning. But methods for testing water for such potentially dangerous bacteria are either time-consuming or do not reliably detect low microbial concentrations.

With the London Marathon coming up this weekend, many may be wondering if we will see a runner achieve a time under two hours. The world record for the fastest 26.2 mile (42.2 km) run is 2 hours, 1 minute and 9 seconds, as set by Eliud Kipchoge during the 2022 Berlin Marathon. He actually beat this time, and achieved the elusive sub-two hour milestone, three year's prior in a park in Vienna, Austria, but this was not recognised as a record. The London race would meet the record requirements if someone beat Kipchoge's time, and with technological advancements, we are closer than we have ever been. Here, MailOnline takes a look at some of the unusual technologies and inventions that may one day help an athlete finally reach the finish line in under two hours.

A former Google engineer has made a stark realization that humans will achieve immortality in eight years - and 86 percent of his 147 predictions have been correct. Ray Kurzweil spoke with the YouTube channel Adagio, discussing the expansion in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing'nanobots.' These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages and make us immune to diseases like cancer. The predictions that such a feat is achievable by 2030 have been met with excitement and skepticism, as curing all deadly diseases seems far out of reach. Kurzweil was hired by Google in 2012 to'work on new projects involving machine learning and language processing,' but he was making predictions in technological advances long before.