--- title: "Scientists Use Microbots to Clear Pneumonia From Lungs of Sick Mice" description: "Nanoengineers at the UC Davis have officially developed microbots that can swim around a mouse's lungs and deliver pneumonia-clearing medicine." date: "2022-09-29" modified: "2022-09-29" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/microbots-pneumonia-lungs-mice" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "antibiotics" - "microbots" - "nanorobotics" - "pneumonia" --- # Scientists Use Microbots to Clear Pneumonia From Lungs of Sick Mice ![Nanoengineers at the UC Davis have officially developed microbots that can swim around a mouse's lungs and deliver pneumonia-clearing medicine.]() *\Image: Fangyu Zhang and Zhengxing Li / Futurism\* Pneumonia is terrible — and can [even be deadly](). Now, a new study on mice may suggest a pathway to a mind-blowingly cool — and seemingly effective, at least in the stricken rodents — new treatment: microbots. Per a [new study published in the journal *Nature Materials*](), nanoengineers at the University of California-Davis have officially developed tiny bots that can swim around a mouse's lungs and deliver pneumonia-clearing medicine. While the tech hasn't been tested in humans yet, the hope is that one day it could. The process of creating the bots, as outlined in the study, is fascinating. They're actually built using antibiotic-filled algae cells, chosen for their ability to move about the lungs. These algae cells are then covered with the nanoparticles that themselves are coated in dozens of biodegradable spheres made from the membranes of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell. Once the bots have run their course, they degrade naturally — and seemingly safely — within the body. "Our goal is to do targeted drug delivery into more challenging parts of the body, like the lungs," study co-author Liangfang Zhang said in a [university press release](). "And we want to do it in a way that is safe, easy, biocompatible, and long-lasting." To demonstrate the algae bots' efficacy, the scientists tested the bots in rodents befallen with *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*, a serious and often fatal bacterial infection that, in humans, causes the type of pneumonia that often leads to hospital visits, ventilators, and death. A control group of rodents went untreated, and the rest received a serving of the bots through a direct tube to the lungs. The results were striking. All the untreated mice died, while those who got the microbots survived through 30 days, all making a 100 percent recovery. The microbots also proved to be wildly more effective than intravenous means — to achieve the same antibiotic efficacy through an IV, the scientists say, you'd have to up the dosage by a sky-high *3,000 percent.* And as it probably goes without saying, that's 'spensive. "With an IV injection, sometimes only a very small fraction of antibiotics will get into the lungs. That's why many current antibiotic treatments for pneumonia don't work as well as needed, leading to very high mortality rates in the sickest patients," Victor Nizet, another study coauthor, added in the announcement. "Based on these mouse data, we see that the microrobots could potentially improve antibiotic penetration to kill bacterial pathogens and save more patients' lives." Again, this is still proof-of-concept. But it's intriguing to see new advancements in the field — who knows, in a few years, microbots might be doing anything from saving you from life-threatening lung infections to [brushing your teeth]() in the morning. **READ MORE:** *[Tiny Robots Have Successfully Cleared Pneumonia From The Lungs of Mice]()* \[*Science Alert*\] **More on microbots:** *[Lazy Flossers Rejoice! Tiny Robot Shapeshifters Will Brush and Floss for You]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()