UMaine launches internships in AI, digital twins for the blue economy
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Nov-2025 19:11 ET (24-Nov-2025 00:11 GMT/UTC)
A magnetically guided microrobotics system is capable of navigating the body’s intricate passageways and vasculature to deliver drugs with pinpoint accuracy, according to a new study. The novel system could enable safer, targeted drug treatments that minimize unwanted side effects. Systemic drug treatments often cause unwanted side effects due to off-target exposure and account for nearly one-third of failures in clinical trials, illustrating the need for precise, targeted drug delivery strategies. To address this, researchers have worked to develop magnetic micro- and nanorobots designed to deliver drugs directly to diseased tissues. Advances in materials science, fabrication, and control systems have enabled microrobots capable of complex movement and targeted delivery in complex biological environments. However, bridging these technologies into clinical practice remains challenging, as it requires the seamless integration of locomotion, navigation, drug delivery, and imaging functions into a single platform while also ensuring the use of biocompatible, biodegradable materials.
Building on their previous work, Fabian Landers and colleagues present a modular magnetically guided, microrobotic platform that integrates an electromagnetic navigation system (Navion) with a custom release catheter and drug-loaded, dissolvable capsule. Each nontethered gelatin-based microrobot contains magnetic and radiopaque nanoparticles along with therapeutic agents, allowing it to be precisely guided to a target site within the body while being tracked in real-time via X-ray imaging. After use, the microrobot can be triggered to dissolve safely within the body. Landers et al. tested the platform in vitro using human vasculature models and in vivo in sheep and pigs under realistic clinical conditions to demonstrate the system’s capabilities. By applying specific magnetic fields, the authors show that the system can maneuver through complex blood vessels and cerebrospinal spaces, trigger controlled heating to dissolve the microrobot and precisely release drugs into targeted tissues, even reaching the smallest vessels. “Although significant work remains to fully translate this technology into clinical practice, our results provide a robust framework for addressing the complex challenges associated with targeted drug delivery,” Landers et al. write.
For reporters interested in trends, a June Science Robotics paper (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adt0720) discussed using magnetic microrobots to treat infections deep within the sinuses, and a Science Robotics study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.adp3593) published late last year reported using ultrasound and magnetic controls to target microrobots for drug delivery.
The microrobot is capable of transporting various types of medication and dissolves to release its cargo at its destination.
A magnetic navigation system allows for reliable control in the bloodstream and in complex brain structures.
The technology has been successfully tested in realistic vessel models and in large animals and could pave the way for novel therapies in the future.
The SETI Institute announced the appointment of Dr. Christina (Chrissy) Richey as Director of Partnerships and Business Development, effective October 16, 2025. Richey joins the SETI Institute from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), holding the position of Program Manager for Research and Technology Development in the Office of R&D. With extensive experience in research management, strategic collaboration, and science leadership, Richey brings a deep understanding of how to advance scientific innovation through cross-sector partnerships.
"My career has always been focused on being a resource and leader for our fantastic research community, and I could think of no better place to do just that than the SETI Institute,” said Richey. “I look forward every day to helping us ask the biggest question of ‘Are we alone?’ with some of the best teams and best minds in the world.”
Concordia researchers have created light-powered micromotors — zinc oxide spheres coated in gold — that can propel themselves through air when exposed to near-infrared light. The absorbed light generates localized heating and air convection, enabling controlled, fuel-free motion with potential applications in airborne sensing, pollution control, and environmental monitoring.