Imagine tiny machines, smaller than a virus, spinning inside cancer cells and rewiring their behavior from within. No surgery, no harsh chemicals, just precision at the molecular level.

Two researchers from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University are investigating light-activated molecular motors—nanometer-sized machines that can apply mechanical forces from within cells to target and selectively disrupt cancerous activity.

Chemical engineering professor Dr. Jorge Seminario and postdoctoral associate Dr. Diego Galvez-Aranda have contributed to pioneering research by demonstrating a new frontier in non-invasive cancer therapies. The recently published manuscript in the Journal of the American Chemical Society continues this line of investigation.