A Body-Bot?
The year was 1966. My classmates and I were herded aboard buses by our school teachers in Phoenix, Arizona for a “field trip” to see a newly released science fiction movie titled Fantastic Voyage. The story line: Russian scientist, Jan Benes, who held the secret of how to shrink soldiers for an indefinite period, escaped from behind the Iron Curtain with the help of a CIA agent. While being transferred, their motorcade was attacked and Benes’ head was struck, causing a blood clot to form in his brain. A group of scientists then were miniaturized, along with a submarine, injected into his bloodstream, and had one hour to travel to his brain and remove the clot and get out before the immune system recognized them as a foreign body. As I remember, the teachers wanted us to see the internal marvels of the human body as the crew made their way from the arm, through the heart, and on to the brain.
While scientists can’t shrink people, Australian scientists are developing a miniature robot that they hope will be able to propel itself through human arteries to perform delicate medical procedures. Only two human hairs wide, the 250-micron microrobot will send images and perform microscopic tasks in areas of the body where current surgical procedure is risky. Once inserted by means of a syringe, the microrobot will be guided by remote control to the target site to perform its assigned tasks, and then return to the point of entry so it can be removed.
One of the obstacles researchers have faced for years is how to design the propulsion system. Since electromagnetic motors aren’t practical, this microrobot’s design is based on the E. coli bacterium of the human intestine. It includes flagella (fluh-GEL-uh) that propel it through the body. The flagella are made from human hair.
Once again, men turn to God and His creation to solve their problems. God built into His creation the principles that make the Universe work the way He wants it to work. Intelligent men are able to tap into the intelligent designs of the Master Designer to produce amazing technology that helps people. “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He Who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3).
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