Targeting Cancer With Salmonella
Researchers continue to expand the set of tools available to build therapies targeted to very specific types of cell. Via ScienceDaily: "Salmonella bacteria can be turned into tiny terminator robots that venture deep into cancerous tumors where conventional chemotherapy can't reach. Once in place, the bacteria manufacture drugs that destroy cancer cells. ... It sounds like science fiction, doesn't it? But Salmonella are little robots that can swim wherever they want. They have propellers in the form of flagella, they have sensors to tell them where they are going and they are also little chemical factories. What we do as engineers is to control where they go, what chemical we want them to make, and when they make it." The future of artificial or engineered cells and bacteria is a bright one - they will likely form the first generation of nanomedical robots, given how much easier it is to alter existing designs rather than build afresh.
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229171124.htm