by Heather Robson

Created on: August 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 12, 2009

What You Can't See Might Heal You

Imagine millions of tiny devices - each a thousandth of the diameter of human hair - at work in your body changing the very structure of the nutrients you consume to make them healthier. You could eat a piece of chocolate cake, for example, and millions of little robots would go to work turning that cake into the vitamins and minerals you need to thrive.

Sounds like a futuristic background note in a science fiction novel, doesn't it? And yet, this kind of technology is much closer at hand than you might think.

Straight Out of Star Trek

Any Star Trek fan can tell you that nanotechnology uses microscopic robots to make changes within an organism, like the human body. The nanotechnology in use today is far from the Borg-style, technology-gone-wrong plots you've seen on TV, though.

Real nanotechnology doesn't necessarily use robots - it just uses very small materials designed to perform a specific function. How small? We're talking about particles that are 100 nanometers or less that's a hundred times smaller than what the human eye can see with a microscope.[i]

It takes specialized equipment to manipulate and implement nanotechnology within a product, but you can do a lot of neat stuff with particles that small.

For instance, one company makes socks with nanoparticles that fight odor. Another company in Israel makes canola oil with nanoparticles that make it easier for the body to absorb healthy phytosterols from the oil. Another is using nanotechnology to enhance the germ fighting ability of toothpaste.

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies maintains a list of products that use nanotechnology. It's absolutely fascinating, and a lot of fun to explore.

A Better Way to Do Surgery

One of the most promising applications of nanotechnology in its current form is how it will change the way doctors do surgery.

Nanotechnology will eventually lead to surgical instruments that allow doctors to perform surgery in a much less invasive manner. Imagine being able to undergo heart surgery without the doctor having to open your chest or stop your heart. The improved survival rates and recovery times will make a huge difference in the level of care patients are able to receive and in the quality of life they will have after a surgery.[ii]

Nanoparticles can also improve treatments for diseases like cancer. Right now, treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy affect both healthy and cancerous cells. With nanotechnology,

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