Sandrine Ceurstemont, editor, New Scientist TV

If you want to make the worm turn, try using magnets. By implanting nanoparticles in nerve cells in a nematode's head, Arnd Pralle and his team from the State University of New York in Buffalo can make a wriggling worm alter its course when exposed to a magnetic field.

In this video, you can see how both a single treated worm, as well as a whole group, can quickly be triggered to change direction. A third clip shows that in the same scenario, an untreated worm doesn't alter its behaviour.

These nematodes are just one example of how living cells can be controlled remotely. By using other hosts, and implanting nanoparticles in ion channels, DNA strands or antibodies, medical treatments could be activated instantly from afar, leading to a new generation of drugs that can be set off with a smartphone app.

To find out more about recent developments in wireless medicine, read our full-length feature, Wireless medicine: Turn on, tune in, control life.

If you enjoyed this post, see how a roundworm can be stunned by UV light or watch how (contrary to what you might think) obstacles can help worms speed through an obstacle course.

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How worms are pioneering remote control medicine