A mouse with a completely severed spinal cord has regained normal movement after treatment with microscopic biohybrid robots combining stem cells and magnetic nanoparticles. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich developed the innovative approach, which showed promising results in animal testing published this week.
The team created “NPCbots” — tiny, magnetically controllable units about six micrometers in size — by integrating human neural progenitor cells (derived from induced pluripotent stem cells) with magnetoelectric nanoparticles. These biohybrid microrobots can be guided to injury sites and stimulated with external magnetic fields to promote nerve regeneration. In mice with full spinal cord transections, scientists injected roughly 500,000 NPCbots and applied daily magnetic stimulation for two weeks.
Within 28 days, treated mice showed significant nerve cell reconnection at the injury site, along with marked improvements in gait, stride length, coordination, and exploratory behavior. This outcome is especially notable because, unlike zebrafish (which also showed rapid recovery in the study), adult mouse spinal cords do not naturally regenerate after such severe injuries.
The research, published in the journal Nature Materials, represents an early but potentially transformative step toward new therapies for spinal cord injuries in humans. Lead researchers including Professor Salvador Pané i Vidal of ETH Zurich’s Multi-Scale Robotics Lab emphasized the technology’s precision and ability to deliver and activate healing cells directly where needed.
While still in the preclinical stage, the findings offer new hope for treatments addressing paralysis and loss of function from traumatic injuries. Further studies will explore safety, scalability, and effectiveness in larger models before any potential human applications.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
