In my Joe Ballen and Logan’s World novels, I mention several times the characters’ use of “nanobiotics.” My idea was that microscopic specialized robots could be injected into a wound site, programmed to repair damage to organs and tissues, fight disease, and effectively work alongside the human body’s natural healing systems, to make such treatment faster and more effective.
Scientists are using simple “microbots” guided by magnets to target cancer cells, where they release a payload of drugs directly into the affected area. While still in its early stages, the possibilities for this kind of technology are incredible. Imagine, for instance, people suffering from arthritis having joint padding rebuilt, or blood clots in stroke sufferers destroyed. The list of potential applications for such treatment is almost endless.
In another of my stories (an unpublished short story called “A Is For Apple”), I also contemplated the idea that medical treatment would eventually become a targeted, tailored process where every treatment is customized to the individual’s needs, rather than the more “one-size-fits-all” approach we have now. If you combine new techniques such as CRISPR and now this targeted delivery system, these are exactly the technologies that can make that happen.
Now that’s science fiction I’d love to see becoming reality!
