Insights into magnetic bacteria may guide research into medical nanorobots

Researchers have long studied magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), aquatic microbes that have the ability to orientate themselves to magnetic fields. This unusual behaviour makes them a subject of interest for improving our understanding of biomagnetism, and potentially harnessing their abilities for future technologies, such as medical nanorobots. Neutrons have been used to explore the characteristics of this magnetism by probing the specialised parts of the cells that are involved.