Scientists at the University of Vermont have created xenobots - living robots that can move and repair themselves. The xenobots got the name in honor of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis, from which scientists took material for their development.
According to CNN, the xenobots project was developed using the Deep Green supercomputer. The supercomputer, taking into account the characteristics of cells and programmed requirements for robots, for example, the ability to move, created many options for the forms of future organisms. Then the computer chose the forms that are most suitable for solving the tasks assigned to the robot. Scientists collected stem cells from frog embryos and constructed organisms from them according to the models that the supercomputer advised.
Xenobots are made up of skin cells that make up their "body" and heart muscle cells that contract to allow living robots to move. Xenobots less than 4 mm wide can walk and swim, survive for weeks without food in fresh water at temperatures from 4.5 to 26.5 ° C and exist in groups. Some xenobots are designed with a hole in the middle; such robots can pick up tiny objects and carry them.
During the experiments, xenobots moved in a circle and moved microscopic granules. They even have self-healing abilities: when scientists cut one robot, it healed and continued to move. However, if you turn the xenobot upside down, it will no longer be able to return to its original position and will, like a beetle, lie on its back.
“These are living machines. They are neither a traditional robot nor any known animal species. This is a new class of creatures: a living, programmable organism,”said Joshua Bongard, one of the leading researchers at the University of Vermont.
Xenobots are not like traditional robots - they have no artificial mechanisms or robotic arms. Instead, they look more like balls of moving flesh. The researchers say this shape was not chosen by chance - this biological machine can achieve something that typical robots made of steel and plastic cannot.
Traditional robots, as scientists write, "deteriorate over time, fail, and their use can have harmful side effects for the environment and human health." Xenobots are more environmentally friendly and safe for humans, the researchers say. They argue that xenobots can be used for a variety of tasks. For example, living robots can be useful for cleaning up radioactive waste, collecting plastic in the oceans. Xenobots can survive in an aquatic environment without additional nutrients for days or weeks, making them suitable for delivering drugs to the human body and even destroying cholesterol plaques in blood vessels.
Promotional video:
In addition to these practical tasks, xenobots can also help researchers learn more about the structure and function of cells, allowing them to make progress in the treatment of various diseases.
“You look at the cells from which we build our xenobots, and genomically these are frog cells. But the xenobots themselves are not frogs. As we've shown, these cells can be used to create interesting living forms that are completely different from the anatomy of frogs. And then the question arises - what else are these cells capable of building? If we could create biological forms according to a given program, we could correct birth defects, remake tumors into normal tissues, regenerate the human body after injuries or diseases and defeat aging,”the researchers say.
Scientists also point out that many probably fear that sooner or later artificially created organisms may get out of control. However, the researchers emphasize that after completing its task, a living robot becomes a collection of dead cells that do not cause any harm. In addition, xenobots lack the ability to reproduce.
An article about the University of Vermont project was published in PNAS magazine. The researchers also posted information about their work on Github.
Author: AnnieBronson