Robots run on spermCausing a splashBy Nick Farrell: Thursday, 03 January 2008, 10:20 AMBOFFINS are developing a new form of nanobot which runs on the whip-like tail of a sperm.The boffins at Cornell University’s Baker Institute for Animal Health think that the power of sperm could be harnessed to send nanobots or other tiny medical devices barrelling around the human body.Alexander Travis, an assistant professor of reproductive biology said that sperm could solve the problem of supplying energy nanobots, implants and “smart” probes.They would have the advantage of being biologically compatible if they were made from biomedical components.The tail of a sperm propels it at a rate of seven inches an hour and is powered by tiny assembly lines that produce adenosine triphosphate.Using mouse sperm proteins so they stick to the surface of a tiny gold chip covered with nickel ions, the boffins built a biological pathway on a man-made surface.We would have thought that was just scientific jargon for a sticky keyboard, however it is the first breakthrough in making sperm like nanorobots, apparently.
UGH. That's nasty.Especially when you begin to ponder on how they even obtained the 'joy juice' to begin with....
All the MORE reason why it's NAR-STEE....though I'm sure the mice are having a good time, the sick bastards.
