The Globe talks to startup machine Robert Langer and fellow MIT researcher Angela Belcher as part of a look at the somewhat underwhelming creep of nanotechnology into everyday products like pants and sunscreen. We may not have cancer fighting robots in our bloodstream yet, but:

But analysts and scientists say extraordinary new devices and techniques are not far off, especially in the realms of medical treatment, power sources, and consumer electronics. Picture cellphones so thin and flexible they can be worn as neck scarves. Imagine assembly lines “staffed’’ by viruses. Think of concrete produced with just a fraction of today’s pollutants (concrete production is a major emitter of greenhouse gases), but able to endure for thousands of years. 

So long as newspapers can’t be staffed by viruses, I approve.  

MHT talked to Belcher about her flexible virus battery technology in May. Langer has also been known to turn up from time to time.