Those “natural machines?” Magnetococcus marinus, or MC-1 — bacteria with the perfect features for delivering chemotherapy deep inside tumours. Scientists believe that MC-1 bacteria may have evolved magnetic sensitivity to locate low oxygen levels using the Earth’s natural magnetic gradients. An MC-1 bacteria also has a whip-like tail that would put an olympic swimmer to shame, propelling the bacteria forward roughly 200 times its own length every second. “We first produce a weak magnetic field pointing towards the tumour to guide drug-loaded bacteria and make them swim towards the tumour,” Martel said. In the recent study, 55 per cent of the MC-1 bacteria penetrated into the areas with the lowest oxygen.

Source: National Post August 24, 2016 16:20 UTC