10/8/1 1- Magnetic particles which assemble themselves into tiny swimming robots

Scientists have taken the first step to recreating the Sandman in Spider-Man 3 - with a series of self assembling robots made of metal particles.
Using magnetic fields a team were able to created the doughnut shaped creatures and move them around between a layer of water and oil.
As soon as they turned the magnetic field off the robots simply disappeared.
Although it is a first step, the researchers from Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. say that the discovery could one day clean surfaces or become a new way of delivering medical treatment.
In the future it could also be the foundation of a creature or machine that is similar to the Sandman in Spider-Man 3, who is able to dissolve and recreate himself at will.
‘We have in mind that we’d someday like to see these structures applied, but we want to understand them first,’ said lead researcher Igor Aranson of the Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. Read More