Sci Guys

143: Xenobots: Science of Living Robots (That Reproduce?)

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Description

Is a robot a robot when it’s made of living cells? Scientists took frog cells and made them into tiny living robots with the apparent ability to build more of themselves from other cells!



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References & Further Reading

  1. https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2112672118
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32364479/
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34043553
  4. https://www.pnas.org/content/117/4/1853



News Articles
  1. https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/team-builds-first-living-robots-that-can-reproduce/
  2. https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/01/1060027395/robots-xenobots-living-self-replicating-copy
  3. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-unveiled-the-worlds-first-living-robots-last-year-now-they-can-now-reproduce-180979150/
  4. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newscientist.com/article/2299252-living-robots-made-from-frog-cells-can-replicate-themselves-in-a-dish/amp/
  5. https://www.uvm.edu/news/story/team-builds-first-living-robots