IISc professor builds tiny magnetic robots to target cancer

IISc Bengaluru professor Ambarish Ghosh is developing microscopic, magnetically steered robots that could navigate the body, detect diseased cells and deliver drugs directly to tumours while sparing healthy tissue. His team designed spiral nanostructures that move under rotating magnetic fields, and in 2026 demonstrated mobile quantum sensors guided by microbots. He won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2018.