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  • OUTLOOK

Miniature medical robots step out from sci-fi

Tiny machines that deliver therapeutic payloads to precise locations in the body are the stuff of science fiction. But some researchers are trying to turn them into a clinical reality.
  1. Anthony King

    1. Anthony King is a science writer in Dublin.

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Cartoon of a blood vessel in which tiny ships head towards a malignant invader

Illustration: Jan Kallwejt

Cancer drugs usually take a scattergun approach. Chemotherapies inevitably hit healthy bystander cells while blasting tumours, sparking a slew of side effects. It is also a big ask for an anticancer drug to find and destroy an entire tumour — some are difficult to reach, or hard to penetrate once located.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00859-0

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Robotics and artificial intelligence, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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