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The first living robot was built from frog stem cells

The world's first living robot was born! Computer scientists at the University of Vermont and biologists at Tufts University jointly created a programmable living robot xenobots that uses 100% frog DNA. The latest research results were published in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences on January 13.

▲ quadruped xenorobot less than 1 mm (0.04 inch) wide constructed from frog stem cells.

The name of these machines comes from the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), which is also a frog species that provides stem cells. The width of the robot is less than one millimeter (0.04 inches). It can move according to the route designed by computer program, and can also load a certain weight and move in human body. They can walk, swim, survive for weeks without food, and work together.

According to Buddha's theory, these are 'completely new life forms'.

▲ heterogeneous robot, with larger hind limbs and smaller forelimbs, with red myocardial layer.

Stem cells are non professional cells with the ability to develop into different cell types. Researchers scraped live stem cells from frog embryos and incubated them. Then, according to a press release from the University of Vermont, these cells were cut and reshaped into specific 'body forms' designed by supercomputers, that is,' forms never seen in nature '.

Then these cells begin to hatch, the skin cells form the overall structure of the robot, and the myocardial cells beat so that the robot can move by itself. Xenobot even has a self-healing function. When scientists cut them, the robot will heal and continue to move.

Joshua & middot, one of the principal researchers at the University of Vermont; "These are novel living machines," Joshua Bongard said in a press release They are neither traditional robots nor known animal species. It is a new kind of artifact: a living programmable creature. "

▲ some heterogeneous robots have holes in the center, which can be used to transport drugs.

Xenobot robots don't look like traditional robots. They don't have shiny gears or mechanical arms. Instead, they look more like a moving mass of meat. The researchers say it is intentional that this' biological machine 'can achieve things that steel and plastic robots usually can't do.

In a study published Monday in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers said that traditional robots' will degrade over time and may have harmful ecological and health side effects. ' Biological robots are more environmentally friendly and safer for human health.

These biological robots are pre loaded with their own lipid and protein deposits and food sources, enabling them to survive for more than a week, but they cannot reproduce or evolve. However, in a nutritious environment, they can live up to a few weeks.

This study shows that this living robot may be used for many tasks. The research is partially funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a federal agency that oversees the development of military technology. Xenobots can be used to remove radioactive waste, collect micro plastics in the ocean, transport drugs inside the human body, and even enter our arteries to remove plaques. Living robots can survive in an aqueous environment for days or even weeks without additional nutrition, which makes them suitable for drug delivery in vivo.

In addition to these direct practical tasks, living robots can also help researchers learn more about cell biology, thus opening the door to the future development of human health and longevity.

"If we can make 3D biological forms on demand, we can repair congenital defects, reprogram tumors into normal tissue, regenerate after trauma or degenerative diseases and overcome aging," the researchers said This study may 'have a huge impact on regenerative medicine (building body parts and inducing regeneration). "