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Digital Planet: Tiny robots cure mice with deadly pneumonia

Factual: Science & Nature

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27/09/2022 GMT

Tiny robots cure mice with deadly pneumonia

BBC World Service - Digital Planet, Tiny robots cure mice with deadly pneumonia

Mice cured of deadly pneumonia by tiny swimming robots

Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice.  Also, internet shutdowns in India – on what grounds are they allowed? And the National Robotarium opens in Edinburgh.

Microrobots have been created and used to treat the most common form of pneumonia that infects patients in ICU. In experiments, currently carried out in mice at the University of California San Diego, the tiny robots swam around the lungs and delivered antibiotics that killed the disease-causing bacteria.  The amount of antibiotics needed is a tiny fraction of the amount currently used to treat this infection intravenously.  The robots are made from algae cells (this allows them to move) covered in antibiotic-filled nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are made with tiny spheres that are coated with the cell membranes of neutrophils – a type of white blood cell that fights infection and inflammation -  making the microrobots more effective at fighting the lung infection.  We hear from lead author Professor Joseph Wang about the tech that’s allowed the team of nanoengineers to create these microrobots.

Internet shutdowns in India – on what grounds are they allowed?
Since 2012 there have been 683 full internet blackouts in India according to the internet shutdown tracker run by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SLFC).  Many of these are done without following government rules.  Now India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has only a week left to reveal the grounds on which it approves or imposes internet shutdowns in the country.  The SFLC filed a lawsuit against the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal, after internet shutdowns were ordered to prevent cheating during state exams. This is a common occurrence around the time of public exams across the country as stolen exam papers often appear on the internet.  Now the Supreme Court has ruled that the protocols on which these decisions are made need to be made public.  Tech reporter Emma Woollacott explains the massive impact of these shutdowns and lawyer Mishi Choudhary founder of the SFLC explains why they bought about the lawsuit.

National Robotarium opens in Edinburgh
Digital Planet’s Hannah Fisher has been given access to the UK’s first robotarium and reports on the eve of its opening for the programme.  A big aim of the national robotarium at Heriot Watt University is to change public opinion about what robots actually are and how we can use them.  


The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell with expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington.

Studio Manager: Andrew Garratt
Producer: Ania Lichtarowicz

(Image: Illustration of microrobots entering the lungs to treat pneumonia. Credit: Wang lab/UC San Diego:)

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