Octopus tentacles are boneless and thus especially mobile. The same is true of worms and elephant trunks. Researchers at Hannover University have used Nature as a model to develop continuum robots for surgery consisting of elastic tubes. As opposed to classic robots, these arms, just a few millimetres thick, have no joints and can be manoeuvred through the body flexibly even in very narrow areas. This paves the way for many new treatment possibilities. For example, in the future surgeons will be able to remove certain tumors or hematomas in the brain through the nose.