9 Mind-Blowing Tech Projects That Prove The Future Is Now

Tiny spaceships may be a few years off, but tiny ships for exploring the body, ala 1980’s flick Innerspace, are much closer to reality. Several have already been designed, and the latest - designed by engineers from the University of Sheffield - are smaller, cheaper and safer.

These tiny rockets are manufactured by 3D printing with liquid silk and biological enzymes that will safely degrade inside the human body instead of littering it with metallic junk. They could one day be injected into humans to deliver medicines or locate cancer cells.

For the moment, though, they’re best left to function outside the body. The enzyme-driven micro-rockets are powered by hydrogen peroxide, from which they make oxygen bubbles that propel the rocket forward. Both hydrogen peroxide and oxygen bubbles can be toxic in the human body. And although the rocket is only the width of a human hair, that’s still large enough to get lodged somewhere unfortunate and cause problems.

Micro-rockets may still be useful outside the human body, though. For example, by screening blood samples for cancer cells. Project supervisor Xiubo Zhao likens it to catching criminals: “Imagine you have a billion people and ten of them are wanted [criminals]. It’s difficult to find them, right? But if you have a car driving around, it might be easier to catch these people.”