Italian scientists invent solar-powered micro-machine

(ANSA) - Milan, July 29 - The first solar-powered miniature machine has been created by researchers at Rome's La Sapienza University in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Technology (ITT) in Genoa.
    The device for use in the biomedical field can transport minuscule loads - including single cells - inside miniature light-powered devices integrating one or several laboratory functions on a chip measuring just a few millimeters.
    The device is built with a minuscule 'wheel' the size of a red blood cell, which is covered in a layer of light-absorbing material suspended over a liquid surface.
    The miniature machine converts solar into mechanical energy and can reportedly perform up to 300 rotations per minute, even with low-intensity light.
    "The surface tension, which for example enables certain species of insects to walk on water without piercing the surface, becomes increasingly relevant in systems of smaller dimensions," said study coordinator Roberto Di Leonardo, a professor at the Sapienza School of Advanced Studies.