Skip to main content

Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

3 comments

Scientists Can Now Navigate Inside Living Cells Using Magnetic Microbots

Understanding what happens inside a living cell has always been one of science’s biggest challenges. Cells are incredibly small, soft, and crowded environments. Unlike open spaces, the interior of a cell is thick and sticky—almost like honey—making it difficult for tiny tools to move freely. This creates a major problem for scientists who want to measure conditions such as temperature, viscosity, or chemical activity inside cells in real time.

Now, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have developed an innovative solution. They have designed a system that uses magnetic microbots to precisely move quantum sensors inside living cells. This breakthrough could transform how we study diseases, understand cellular processes, and develop new medical treatments.

Why Measuring Inside Cells Is So Difficult

Cells may look simple under a microscope, but they are extremely complex. Their interiors are packed with proteins, organelles, and fluids that create a dense and highly viscous environment. In such conditions, tiny particles—especially nanometer-sized quantum sensors—face strong resistance when they try to move.

This resistance, known as viscous drag, slows down or even stops the motion of these sensors. As a result, scientists have traditionally relied on chance—waiting for the molecule or substance they want to study (called an analyte) to come close to the sensor.

But this passive approach has clear limitations. It reduces accuracy and makes it difficult to capture dynamic changes happening inside the cell.

A New Idea: Move the Sensor Instead

The research team, led by Ambarish Ghosh, asked a simple yet powerful question: instead of waiting for the analyte to come to the sensor, why not move the sensor to the analyte?

This idea led to the development of a system where sensors can actively explore the cellular environment. By controlling the movement of the sensor, scientists can now target specific regions inside the cell and take precise measurements.

How the Quantum Sensor Works

At the heart of this innovation is a tiny but powerful device—a nanodiamond quantum sensor. These sensors are made from diamonds that contain a special defect known as a nitrogen vacancy (NV).

In simple terms, an NV defect occurs when a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom in the diamond structure, leaving an empty space nearby. This tiny imperfection gives the diamond unique quantum properties.

The electrons in this defect have something called “spin states,” which are extremely sensitive to their surroundings. Changes in temperature, magnetic fields, or chemical conditions can alter these spin states in measurable ways.

When a laser shines on the nanodiamond, it emits light (fluorescence). By analyzing this light, scientists can determine what’s happening in the sensor’s immediate environment. This allows them to measure important parameters such as:

  • Temperature

  • Viscosity

  • Magnetic fields

  • Chemical activity inside the cell

The Problem with Older Techniques

Before this breakthrough, scientists used a method called optical tweezers to move tiny particles like nanodiamonds. Optical tweezers use highly focused laser beams to trap and manipulate small objects.

While effective, this technique has a major drawback. The intense laser light can damage or heat living cells, a problem known as phototoxicity. This limits its use in sensitive biological systems.

Magnetic Microbots: A Safer Alternative

To overcome this issue, the IISc team introduced magnetic microbots. These are tiny, screw-shaped devices that can move through fluids when controlled by magnetic fields.

The microbots contain iron, which makes them responsive to external magnetic fields. When a rotating magnetic field is applied, the microbot spins. Because of its helical (spiral) shape, this spinning motion is converted into forward movement—similar to how a corkscrew moves through a cork.

By attaching the nanodiamond sensor to the microbot, researchers can guide it precisely in three dimensions inside the cell. This approach eliminates the need for constant laser manipulation, significantly reducing damage to the cell.

The laser is now only used when taking measurements, not for movement, making the process much safer and more efficient.

Overcoming Brownian Motion and Noise

At such small scales, another challenge arises: random motion caused by heat, known as Brownian motion. This constant jostling can make the sensor unstable and introduce noise into measurements.

However, the magnetic control of the microbot provides a solution. By precisely controlling the orientation and position of the microbot, researchers can stabilize the sensor and reduce unwanted motion. This results in clearer, more accurate data.

Avoiding Magnetic Interference

One of the biggest technical challenges was ensuring that the magnetic microbot did not interfere with the sensitive quantum sensor.

The research team, including Eklavy Vashist, solved this problem by carefully designing the system. They placed the nanodiamond about one micrometer away from the microbot’s iron head. At this distance, the magnetic field from the microbot does not affect the sensor’s readings.

This precise engineering allowed both components to function effectively without interfering with each other.

What Can This Technology Do?

This new system opens up exciting possibilities in biology and medicine. Scientists can now explore the inside of living cells with unprecedented precision.

Some potential applications include:

1. Measuring Cellular Conditions

Researchers can directly measure temperature and viscosity inside different parts of a cell. This helps in understanding how cells function under normal and stressed conditions.

2. Detecting Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

The sensor can detect Reactive Oxygen Species—highly reactive molecules linked to aging and diseases like cancer. Monitoring ROS levels inside cells could provide valuable insights into disease progression.

3. Studying Disease Mechanisms

By observing how cellular environments change over time, scientists can better understand diseases at a microscopic level. This could lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments.

4. Drug Development

Pharmaceutical researchers can use this technology to see how drugs interact inside cells in real time, improving the design of targeted therapies.

A Step Toward the Future of Medicine

This breakthrough represents a major step forward in nanotechnology and biomedical research. By combining quantum sensing with magnetic control, the team has created a tool that can navigate one of the most challenging environments in science—the interior of a living cell.

It also highlights the growing importance of interdisciplinary research, where physics, biology, and engineering come together to solve complex problems.

Conclusion

The ability to precisely move quantum sensors inside living cells marks a turning point in cellular research. With the help of magnetic microbots, scientists can now actively explore the inner workings of life at the nanoscale.

This innovation from the Indian Institute of Science not only overcomes long-standing technical challenges but also opens the door to new discoveries in health, disease, and medicine.

As this technology continues to evolve, it could lead to a deeper understanding of life itself—and potentially revolutionize how we diagnose and treat some of the world’s most complex diseases.

Reference: E.Vashist, B.Pal, and A.Ghosh, “Magnetically Maneuvered Quantum Sensors.” Advanced Functional Materials (2026): e27479. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202527479

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular

Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

For years, scientists believed that adding even one qubit (a unit of quantum information) to a black hole needed energy. This was based on the idea that a black hole’s entropy must increase with more information, which means it must gain energy. But a new study by Jonah Kudler-Flam and Geoff Penington changes that thinking. They found that quantum information can be teleported into a black hole without adding energy or increasing entropy . This works through a process called black hole decoherence , where “soft” radiation — very low-energy signals — carry information into the black hole. In their method, the qubit enters the black hole while a new pair of entangled particles (like Hawking radiation) is created. This keeps the total information balanced, so there's no violation of the laws of physics. The energy cost only shows up when information is erased from the outside — these are called zerobits . According to Landauer’s principle, erasing information always needs energy. But ...
3 comments
Read more

Black Holes That Never Dies

Black holes are powerful objects in space with gravity so strong that nothing can escape them. In the 1970s, Stephen Hawking showed that black holes can slowly lose energy by giving off tiny particles. This process is called Hawking radiation . Over time, the black hole gets smaller and hotter, and in the end, it disappears completely. But new research by Menezes and his team shows something different. Using a theory called Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) , they studied black holes with quantum corrections. In their model, the black hole does not vanish completely. Instead, it stops shrinking when it reaches a very small size. This leftover is called a black hole remnant . They also studied something called grey-body factors , which affect how much energy escapes from a black hole. Their findings show that the black hole cools down and stops losing mass once it reaches a minimum mass . This new model removes the idea of a “singularity” at the center of the black hole and gives us a better ...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Planetary Movements Might Explain Sunspot Cycles and Solar Phenomena

Sunspots, dark patches on the Sun's surface, follow a cycle of increasing and decreasing activity every 11 years. For years, scientists have relied on the dynamo model to explain this cycle. According to this model, the Sun's magnetic field is generated by the movement of plasma and the Sun's rotation. However, this model does not fully explain why the sunspot cycle is sometimes unpredictable. Lauri Jetsu, a researcher, has proposed a new approach. Jetsu’s analysis, using a method called the Discrete Chi-square Method (DCM), suggests that planetary movements, especially those of Earth, Jupiter, and Mercury, play a key role in driving the sunspot cycle. His theory focuses on Flux Transfer Events (FTEs), where the magnetic fields of these planets interact with the Sun’s magnetic field. These interactions could create the sunspots and explain other solar phenomena like the Sun’s magnetic polarity reversing every 11 years. The Sun, our closest star, has been a subject of scient...
Post a Comment
Read more