Bacteria as Living Microrobots to Fight Cancer

Recommendable! A comprehensive survey written by two researchers. The article also provides an overview of nanobots. Cancer is history!

" ... The idea of using bacteria to treat cancer is not new. One of the earliest reports on bacteria as a cancer therapy comes from the immunotherapy pioneer William Coley, who in the late 19th century recognized that some cancer patients also suffering from skin infections were more likely to get better. He began injecting bacterial toxins, heat-inactivated microbes, or even live cultures of Streptococcus bacteria into his patients with inoperable bone and soft-tissue cancers, often leading to remissions. It was a bold approach, given the risk of uncontrollable infections from these bacterial formulations before the widespread availability of antibiotics. Largely because of that danger, and the promise of the nascent concepts of radiation and chemotherapy, the clinical use of bacteria as therapeutic agents for cancer went undeveloped. Today, this revolutionary idea has been experiencing a renaissance. ... "

Bacteria as Living Microrobots to Fight Cancer | The Scientist Magazine®: Autonomous, living microrobots that seek and destroy cancer are not as futuristic as one might imagine, thanks to a fusion of robotics and synthetic biology.