New Scientist reports on a new way to propel nanomachines – using wiggly little germs as propulsion (or models for propulsion) because they’re kinky:
The motion of Spiroplasma swimming through fluid by sending kinks down its body has been described perfectly by a new computer model by physicists in Germany. They believe their results could be important for one day designing micromachines that might be used for microscale manufacturing or for medical procedures.
“Our results could provide fresh ideas for developing artificial micromachines that work efficiently on the nano- and micro-scales,” Roland Netz of the Technical University Munich told New Scientist.