Mini-machines that move without batteries

By: Stephen Ornes
Visited on: 10.11.10


          A new invention has been created, one that every one is talking about. In a laboratory at John Hopking University scientist have created a new machine. You might be wondering why is that news? Well it is simply because of two main facts. First of all, the machines work without batteries and second of all, they are smaller than mosquitoes. The leader of this project was David Gracias. He is known as a scientist that works on miniaturization which are small objects which in this case is the machine.This new invention can be useful for medicine and for removing parts of the tissue. Also for helping cancer. Last but not least, they can give small amount of drugs to disease parts in the human body. So as i said before, the machine doesn't work on batteries but on biology. The machine can be inspired by nature but of course you will not find any machines growing there.
         How is the machine made?
        First of all, the machine has a base layer of silicon- also used for computer chips. On top of that, are placed 3 different types of metal: Chromium, nickel and gold. The last thing they add are layers of polymers which are big molecules of many atoms. The machines have tiny fingers made to grab things and once it has something it looks like a palm. 
       While making the machine, Gracias tested different polymers: one is from collagen which keeps the human body together and the second one is from cellulose found in the cell walls of plant cells.Before even exhibiting the invention the scientist tested the machine in various ways until now the whole world knows. The goal of this invention, is that one day hopefully the machine can fight against cancer. “In nature, and in us, these [machines] respond to chemistry,” Gracias told Science News.
    Sometimes when I think about this discovery, i really hope it will work with saving people from cancer because connected for me my grandfather has cancer so this is something that could have helped him if it would have been invented a bit before.
    I choose to write and study about this topic because it is something that is related to me in a way and because it is an interesting topic.
 If you are interested the web is:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64362/title/FOR_KIDS_Minimachines_that_move_without_batteries
Some words are:

enzyme Any of numerous proteins produced by living organisms and that help with chemical reactions.
polymer Any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds of high molecular weight consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units, each a relatively light and simple molecule.
collagen The fibrous protein constituent of bone, cartilage, tendon and other connective tissue. It is converted into gelatin by boiling.
cellulose A complex carbohydrate that forms the main part of the cell wall in most plants. It is also important in the manufacture of numerous products, such as paper, textiles, pharmaceuticals and explosives.