Scientists have successfully inserted nanomotors into living cells. They can now control its movement. This sounds like science fiction, but it isn't.

The team of chemists and engineers from Penn State University developed the nanomotors after experimenting with similar devices in nonliving cells. The nanomotors can move around freely, stirring up the cell's contents without killing it. They can also penetrate a cell's membrane, to invade or escape.

This is big news because imagine what sort of medical prowess it can achieve.

Penn State professor Tom Mallouk said in a statement, "We might be able to use nanomotors to treat cancer and other diseases by mechanically manipulating cells from the inside. Nanomotors could perform intracellular surgery and deliver drugs noninvasively to living tissues."

"One dream application of ours is Fantastic Voyage-style medicine, where nanomotors would cruise around inside the body, communicating with each other and performing various kinds of diagnoses and therapy."

The research is still in its early stages, and the scientists haven't stated what's next just yet, but stay tuned for this. [PhysOrg]