This is a very interesting study. Researchers from UC San Diego published a study in Advanced Materials, that has printed 3D tiny microrobots in the shape of fish. The tiny fish microrobots, or microfish, are just 120 microns long and 30 microns thick. A micron is a unit of length which is equal to one millionth of a meter. To put it another way, there are 25,4000 microns in one inch. So we are talking a very, very small microfish. Hundreds of the fish can be printed in seconds. They contain platinum in the tail with reacts with hydrogen peroxide, moving the tails of the fish. As the microfish swim through a liquid, the glow red while detoxifying a liquid that has been contaminated with toxins, and continue to swim around to ensure they get all of the toxins. Although the fish are still early on in their development, scientists are very excited about this new prospect. “This method has made it easier for us to test different designs for these microrobots and to test different nanoparticles to insert new functional elements into these tiny structures. It’s my personal hope to further this research to eventually develop surgical microrobots that operate safer and with more precision,” one of the microfish inventors Jinxing Li said in a press release. One day, we all may be swallowing little glowing fish in the morning. MORE