Chemists at IBM (Almaden, California / USA; www.research.ibm.com) have unveiled a new kind of covert and unorthodox warfare waged by "ninja polymers". The antibiotic-free method, based on semiconductor technology, kills bacteria – including the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by launching physical rather than chemical attacks, much like DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda. Contrary to the traditional Samurai swords, invisibility, the ability to walk on water and control over elements, this ninja uses an older strategy – that of infiltration.

To explain: One of the biggest risks of conventional antibiotics is that they can yield immunity or tolerance over a period of time. Bacteria such as MRSA not only pose the threat of potential lethal infection, but are also tolerant to common antibiotics. That is why IBM's scientists endeavoured to hit these bacteria with the quickest assassins known to mankind – ninjas, or, to be more exact: "ninja polymers". Once in the bloodstream or in contact with water, these polymers self-assemble into nano structures (ninjas) that are electrostatically drawn to infected cells, while ignoring the healthy ones. Once their impossible mission is done, they self-destruct. Much like their light-as-a-feather tree-hopping namesakes, they vanish without a trace. After all is said and done, the strategy is dumbfoundingly simple but extremely effective: infiltrate, assassinate and then dissipate.