The parasitic alien life form is a favourite theme for sci-fi film producers – the Venom and Alien series are two examples that come to mind. In a case of science imitating art, a team of Hong Kong-based researchers have drawn inspiration from Venom to develop a therapeutic invasive slime. Unlike rigid mini-submarine medical robots, the slime robot uses an amoebic, crawling motion to move through human bodies. A soft, flexible “body” that can navigate its way through humans by mimicking a food bolus would be a boon for surgeons and physicians, potentially allowing object retrieval and the delivery of...