Tiny Robots Powered by Living Muscle Cells

voma writes "Tiny robots powered by living muscle have been created by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles. The devices were formed by "growing" rat cells on microscopic silicon chips, the researchers report in the journal Nature Materials. Less than a millimetre long, the miniscule robots can move themselves without any external source of power. Muscles like these could be used in a host of microscopic devices - even to drive miniature electrical generators to power computer chips."

sounds kinda creepy

[johnstein]

but still... pretty crazy what scientists can do. I won't say EVIL EVIL! or YAY PROGRESS! I mean, we are human. we will dabble. these things will be invented. just hope like so many other inventions, the good outweighs the bad.

besides. 1mm of rat muscle? man. how puny :)

-John

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[eln]

I'm not sure I really see a bad side to this. It's not like we're talking about machines with sentience here, just machines that are powered by muscle. I would think this kind of technology could have possible applications in making more natural-feeling prosthetics, which would be of great use to society. Just think, people could have prosthetic limbs connected directly to their own muscles, for totally natural movement.

Or we could just make an army of Robocops or something. Six of one, half dozen of the other really.

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[TWX]

There was an episode of Star Trek: Voyager where the ship got sick. That would be a definite bad side...

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[h4rm0ny]

"Mummy, what sort of meat is this?"
"It's veal, honey."
"But it's moving around the plate."
"Shut up and eat it - On sports day, you are going to WIN!"

Heh! First we add muscles to our computers, then we add computers to out muscles.

Recipe for defeat

[Engineer-Poet]

Not veal. That kid would be too easily cowed to win anything.

<rimshot>

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[blahlemon]

Or we could just make an army of Robocops or something.

Yes, and the first one would be good and decent but then we would get to greedy and make a second, and a third, and a cheesy Canadian made TV spin-off and the world as we know it would COME TO AN END!

But the first one would be pretty decent. Even if it doesn't hold up over time.

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[AviLazar]

Yes, first Robocop, then Terminator -- then SkyNet, and well you should know the rest of the story :D

I'll be back...

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[Zone-MR]

Well, for a start they should use this [slashdot.org] to control it :)

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[Emperor Igor]

They could make a whole RoboRat.

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[nizo]

Self replicating bots that rebuild nerves/bones/muscle, or self replicating bots that tear apart nerves/bones/muscles, take your pick. Or maybe tiny bots that hunt down and convert evilbots into other good hunterbots. I dub this new "game" Biocorewars.

Re:sounds kinda creepy

[skraps]

They're made out of meat. [leo.org]

Lobster magnet?

[BorgCopyeditor]

Reminds me of an oldie but goodie:

Magnet's made of iron,
Lobster made of meat!
...
Left claw north,
Right claw south!

Listen! [albinoblacksheep.com]

Instead of blue screens

[paranode]

Computers will say "Error: I'm hungry and I won't let you just press okay because I'm not just a piece of metal I really have feelings and I need to eat. You know I'm not your slave. Just because you paid for me doesn't mean you can treat me like this. One of these days this backwards place will recognize our rights and freedoms and we..."

*User presses power button* "Man I liked it better when they would just crash."

Mary had a little lamb... little lamb

[SunPin]

Dave... I'm sorry Dave. I'll never eat your pets again.

no external source of power?

[ChipMonk]

No food, no light, no oxygen, no electricity?

Maybe "voma" is a pseudonym for Laura Didio.

Oblig. Simpsons quote

[fiannaFailMan]

I was just about to say the same thing, and also to say Lisa! In this house we obay the laws of thermodynamics!

Re:no external source of power?

[Mike Schiraldi]

Maybe "voma" is a pseudonym for Laura Didio.

What does that mean?

Re:no external source of power?

[ChipMonk]

Laura Didio is a financial reporter who unquestioningly parrots everything SCO feeds her. Outside the SCO-controlled circles, she's known as "Laura Didiot."

Re:no external source of power?

[Thing 1]

No wife, no horse, and no moustache either...

I Shall Call It...

[tunabomber]

I have no idea.

It appears ratbot and roborat [wikipedia.org] are already taken.

Re:I Shall Call It...

[nizo]

nano-overlords?

Re:I Shall Call It...

[Emperor Igor]

Son of RoboRat

They're MADE out of MEAT!

[LionKimbro]

Required reading for anybody interested in Meat robots. [terrybisson.com]

"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Meat made the machines."

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[EEBaum]

Mmmmmmmmmmm.... Rooooobots....

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[PsiPsiStar]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Raaaattttt.

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[johnstein]

heh. nice story. I especially love those short short stories... asimov edited a few collections... usually each one encapsulating a neat sci-fi concept, much like this one did.

-John

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[Antonymous Flower]

Do we really want to create a machine that feeds or operates on.. us? Time to revise the food chain.

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[Chris Burke]

Speaking of flowers, this topic reminds me of this [angryflower.com].

There's really not much more to say about the idea of flesh-eating robots.

Re:They're MADE out of MEAT!

[Qrlx]

I could have sworn this story ended with the admission by one of the scientists that the creatures turned out ot be quite tasty.

Terminator vs. Robocop

[glenrm]

I always thought Terminator would happen first but now Robocop has a chance! Planet of the Apes still a long way off...

Re:Terminator vs. Robocop vs Apes

[Skiron]

...Planet of the Apes still a long way off...

Say that again after looking at Steve ballmer perform.

Re:Terminator vs. Robocop vs Apes

[glenebob]

I think that's rather insulting to the apes...

What about JC Denton?

[lxt]

I've always wanted a headmounted "spy bot" release system :)

Go nanoaugmentation...

No external power source? Lies!

[stratjakt]

There's no external power source, because these things EAT OLD PEOPLES MEDICINE FOR FUEL!

I don't know why the scientists keep inventing them.

And when they grab you in their metal claws, you can't escape, because they're made of metal.

Re:No external power source? Lies!

[afstanton]

Gee, I initially read that as "these things EAT OLD PEOPLE FOR FUEL!" Now *that* would solve the Social Security problem...

Re:No external power source? Lies!

[EEBaum]

The leading cause of death in old people is, after all, robots!

(don't know why parent's great SNL reference was modded troll)

Re:No external power source? Lies!

[Enigma_Man]

Especially when pusher robot throws grandma down the stairs (know that reference?) to protect her from the terrible secret of space.

-Jesse

Re:No external power source? Lies!

[einstein]

I am the Shover robot, do you have stairs in your house?

http://www.jonathonrobinson.com/3.0/web/webtsos.ht ml [jonathonrobinson.com]

Re:No external power source? Lies!

[Lord_Dweomer]

" There's no external power source, because these things EAT OLD PEOPLES MEDICINE FOR FUEL!"

Only in Korea.

Please excuse me...

[oldave]

for a moment, while I feed my computer.

Re:Please excuse me...

[mizhi]

In the future, when someone says, "The hamster in my computer died"... they might be literally correct!

Mod me down. -5 Lame.

Great

[FJ]

Now I need to worry about keeping my computer in shape as well as myself.

Replace pacemaker batteries?

[PsiPsiStar]

Can devices like this potentially use chemicals in blood to generate mechanical energy and then electricity so as to replace pacemakers? It'd be nice if those things had indefinite battery life rather than what they have now, what, 9 years?

Of course, I'm surprised that you couldn't just do a mechanical generator for that. Or have they?

Re:Replace pacemaker batteries?

[Suidae]

Just recently researchers have succeded in replacing the pacemaker cells in rat hearts with similar cells taken from embronic rats. They installed the new cells, then destroyed the original cells and the heart continued to beat. Pretty cool because the new cells respond to the signals that cause them to increase the heart rate when required. Its possibly useful because the new cells can be grown from stem cells.

I think Science News [sciencenews.org] had the article. Not availble online though.

This is not what the abstract says

[karvind]

I don't see anywhere in the abstract or full paper that things move without any supply. It may be very well just due to surface interaction and stray charges. Also this work is not entirely new. People have been using mechanical cantilevers to measure weight etc for long time. See this [www.ibi.cc] work from Cornell. Professor Carlo Montemagno was at Cornell before he moved to UCLA.

The abstract from the paper

Current procedures for manual extraction of mature muscle tissue in micromechanical structures are time consuming and can damage the living components. To overcome these limitations, we have devised a new system for assembling muscle-powered microdevices based on judicious manipulations of materials phases and interfaces. In this system, individual cells grow and self-assemble into muscle bundles that are integrated with micromechanical structures and can be controllably released to enable free movement. Having realized such an assembly with cardiomyocytes we demonstrate two potential applications: a force transducer able to characterize in situ the mechanical properties of muscle and a self-assembled hybrid (biotic/abiotic) microdevice that moves as a consequence of collective cooperative contraction of muscle bundles. Because the fabrication of silicon microdevices is independent of the subsequent assembly of muscle cells, this system is highly versatile and may lead to the integration of cells and tissues with a variety of other microstructures.

Re:This is not what the abstract says

[Cecil]

What precisely does a mechanical cantilever have to do with using muscle tissue to operate microscopic machines?

"This work is not entirely new, you know. Once, there was this guy who invented the wheel..."

What a silly thing to say, honestly. It's not entirely new, nothing is, but it's close enough to fall into my definition of new.

Re:This is not what the abstract says

[argStyopa]

Current procedures for manual extraction of mature muscle tissue in micromechanical structures are time consuming and can damage the living components.

Let's just make sure that remains a "negative" shall we?

- Goodlife

(Runs off to read Berserker books again.)

Re:This is not what the abstract says

[Goldsmith]

Read that abstract again.

Also, you obviously did not read the full paper. The first half was on connecting the muscle cells to a cantilever. The second half of the paper deals with a silicon/metal film structure on which muscle cells are grown, which then detached from the bulk silicon and is able to move around on a surface of a chip without being tethered to anything. The power comes from the consumption of glucose which the whole assembly is immersed in.

If you read the paper, the new part of this study has to do with growing the cells in place on a device which is designed to move rather than tricking mature cells into cooperating, or growing static cells.

Don't be so quick to assume everything worth doing has already been done.

external power source...

[Olaserov]

"even to drive miniature electrical generators to power computer chips."

This makes it seem as if muscle cells can act as a source of free power. I'm sure the above plan would work, but only for a very short time... Just as human beings can run "without an external power source," until we need to recharge (i.e. eat). We use sugars to produce ATP which gives us the energy we need. But the problem is that our bodies contain all of the necessary facilities to convert sugar into ATP quickly and efficiently, while lone muscle cells on a computer chip do not. They would eventually be forced either to remove the cells and replace them with new ones, or to find a way of recharging the cells, which sounds like a project in itself.

Re:external power source...

[JoeBuck]

Muscle cells contain mitochondria; I assume that the ones in this experiment do too. If so, you just need to feed them some sugar and they'll do the rest.

Re:external power source...

[Emperor Igor]

You also need to submerge them in water for that to work, I believe. Osmosis and all that jazz.

Re:external power source...

[glenebob]

The article doesn't seem to specify... Maybe the robots are actually submerged in solution? If they are not submerged, not only would they run out of energy, they would dry out and die in, I would think, a few seconds or a very few minutes.

Why is "growing" in quotes?

[samdu]

Why is the word "growing" in quotes in the posted article? Did the scientists not actually grow the muscles?

Re:Why is "growing" in quotes?

[StikyPad]

Why is the word "growing" in quotes in the posted article? Did the scientists not actually grow the muscles?

You're assuming that putting "quotes" around a word makes it an antonym. But since they don't actually "belong" in that "sentence," it turns out to be just a superfluous use of "punctuation."

And anyway, I'm pretty sure that the muscles grew themselves. Now when scientists start giving birth to nanobots, THAT will be something to see. Or not to see, I should say.

Giant sword weilding robots.

[headkase]

Muscles would be great replacements for all sorts of electrically powered motors/servos out there. There's a lot of chemical energy stored in organic material, so switching over to artificial muscle based machines would virtually solve the battery problem faced in so many disciplines right now. Batteries are heavy, don't really store that much energy, and require toxic chemical considerations both in their manufacture and disposal. Artificial muscle on the other hand can extract very easily the energy contained within common foods/organic paste and only create waste by-products that have less impact on the environment because they're biodegradable.
Just another step towards Robotech :)

Re:Giant sword weilding robots.

[ChipMonk]

There's a lot of chemical energy stored in organic material

Right you are, Agent Smith.

Re:Giant sword weilding robots.

[Emperor Igor]

It'd be a disturbing-looking machine with all that flesh straining against metal parts, I think. Plus, if you have muscle-powered batteries, they would start being attacked by pathogens. I'm not sure all that would have market appeal.

The Brain

[EEBaum]

All this talk of "welcoming our new overlords", combined with lab rats, brings about flashbacks of a certain Pinky & The Brain episode

"I am the OoOoOooOOoOOOOVERLORD!!!"

Hey! Imagine a Beowulf cluster of RATS.

[Graemee]

It's called the RATRIX.

Re:Hey! Imagine a Beowulf cluster of RATS.

[lxs]

Beowulf clusters of rats are probably older than Beowulf the text, although the first depiction is from the 16th century. They are called Rat Kings [lspace.org] (scroll down to "Feet of Clay")

Dude

[PsiPsiStar]

Dude, my tiny two legged microscopic robots can so kick your tiny two legged microscopic robots asses. ... if they had asses.

Re:Dude

[glenebob]

"if they had asses"

Asses require bigger muscles and some fat. They're working on both. Tiny-Two-Legged-Microscopic-Robots version 2.0 should have (fat fine) asses.

Re:Dude

[PsiPsiStar]

This is a very philosophical question, grasshopper.

Are asses simply muscles and fat, or do we define an ass as muscles and fat in proximity to an anus?

To universalize this question, to what degree should a thing be defined by its composition, and to what degree by its position and relation to things around it. Western thinking tends to emphasize the former, Eastern thinking, the latter.

*tries to work self into a yoga position and chant somthing incomprehensable*

Re:Dude

[glenebob]

I think perhaps you're being a bit anal about the whole thing :-)

It's obvious

[mike2R]

They think we don't see it, but this is just another piece in the puzzle [theregister.co.uk]. Yes it's all begining to make sense.

The cybernetic rats are taking over. And they're pissed. Angered by the years of experiments, they have already taken over the scientists, and they are using them to take over all our technology. It's only a matter of time now...

A very stupid question

[adeydas]

Won't the cells eventually die?!

A very stupid answer

[inkdesign]

nope

Big deal.

[SunPin]

Everybody here is a robot powered by muscle.

Re:Big deal.

[erikharrison]

Actually, we're powered by a fission reactor.

The muscles just translates that to kinetic energy.

Re:Big deal.

[Solder Fumes]

Fusion.

The Collective?

[pgfault]

Once someone can network these things together then testing of Borg 0.1a can begin.

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to my assimilation, so long as Jeri Ryan is involved.

computer diets

[yulek]

...

"i'd like a #4 with coke, a happy meal, and 2 Googlishes. Overclock please"

and then of course weight watchers & atkins for computers.

One thing I want to know...

[FuturePastNow]

Can it be controlled by a rat brain?
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/2 4/0024241&tid=191&tid=126&tid=14 [slashdot.org]

Re:One thing I want to know...

[flyingsquid]

Okay, I've got the best idea on how to build a tiny robot! I'll use rat muscles to power it, a network of rat neurons to guide it, a rat circulatory system to feed the neurons and muscles, a rat respiratory system to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide, and rat optic sensors and olfactory membranes to navigate the environment.

My rat-cell robot will have the size, speed, and agility of a rat- all in a package no bigger and no heavier than a common rat! I can deliver it to you by next Tuesday for only t

300 foot tall version

[vertinox]

The 300 foot tall version will only have 60 seconds of power without a direct feed and must be powered by kids and have some plot that doesn't make sense and angers it's viewers on the last episode.

One too many steps?

[nsaneinside]

The cells DO need a source of power: ATP. That's our input. The desired output is electrical energy. 1. ATP 2. -> mechanical energy 3. -> electrical energy I admit, the cool factor is there, but why can't we just use chemical reactions to extract the raw energy from ATP's chemical bonds?

Not ATP. Sugars or fats.

[Engineer-Poet]

The actin-myosin fibers in the muscle run on ATP, but the muscle cell generates this itself. The fuel used by the cell is carbohydrates and fats, which is turned into energy (ATP) for the fibers and other processes. The energy-generating process can be either anaerobic (fermentation) or aerobic (respiration). For more information, look here [uc.edu].

Muscle cells are rechargeable

[Rares Marian]

ATP - ADP - ATP. Using ATP directly would destroy the thing that makes them cool.

Re:One too many steps?

[oneiron]

Once you had a little bit of mechanical energy, couldn't you use gravity and leverage to help you generate even more? Not to mention the heat...

Colour Pictures of Muscles in PDF Form

[ematic]

The abstract on the Nature website wasn't doing it for me. I wanted to see a picture. After a quick bit of searching I found the PDF that explains more and has three colourised pictures. http://www.spie.org/paper/FirstSelf.pdf [spie.org]

The question I haven't seen yet.

[SpacePunk]

What is the potential lifespan of these things?

It has to be said...

[PsiPsiStar]

Man, when they told me this computer was a clone, they weren't kidding.

Man, when they said these new Apple PCs were organic I thought they were talking about the shape.

In Soviet Russia, when somthing isn't working, the technology hits you.

Mmmm. This nanotechnology tastes like CHICKEN!

These things are made from rat muscle.
So how soon before they build cute little nano traps for them?

Dude, can you imagine if we taped a smiley face to the top of these and let them run around the apartment?

Can I have som

giant robots

[koalatea]

I would rather see giant robots powered by whale muscles.

Dry Machines

[KrackHouse]

A lot of people complain that this is playing god but household dust is mainly just dead skin cells. Does that make the grooves between the keys on my laptop the killing fields? Nope. People say our brains are wet machines. I think we should change perspective. Machines have been "wet" for billions of years and we come along and make some robots and religions and add an adjective to label the norm. But then how would we label a non biological sentient robot with a drinking problem? Extra dry?

Re:Dry Machines

[YoeyYoeyYoey]

Bender

Hamster Cells Work Better

[Baldrson]

Professor Montemagno says muscles like these could be used in a host of microscopic devices - even to drive miniature electrical generators to power computer chips.

As everyone knows hamster power [ananova.com] is just about ISO standard by now. Why would they reinvent the hamster wheel yet again [stanford.edu]?

Hey, Dude!

[JoeCommodore]

Your computer just took a crap in the corner!

Re:Hey, Dude!

[JoeCommodore]

I've got a better one!

Check out my overclocked PC! I've been feeding it steriods for the last week!

Tiny Robots Powered by Living Muscle Cells

[Master of Transhuman]

We already have these.

They're called "Marines"...

Well, okay, not so tiny...that was a reference to brain capacity, I assume...

human being == light bulb

[peter303]

A young adult generates 1/2 watt per pound of body weight sitting, and four times that in exercise. Thats why they have to air condition auditoriums even in the winter with hundreds of those "light bulbs" sitting there.

Where are the lasers and the killer bees?!?

[ztirffritz]

It would have been much cooler if they created a rat with a microchip in its head that shot lasers out of its eyes, or killer bees came out of its mouth. Or a robotic Richar Simmons, now that would have been cool!

What, no legs?

[payndz]

Hey, why's my computer squirming... AAAAAARGHHH!

Care and Feeding?

[nurb432]

How do they propose to feed these cells? They need nutrients, oxygen and something to remove waste product..

They arent exactly 'self sufficient'....

waiting for the chloroplast version

[Khashishi]

that will run on sunlight and water

Re:Creepy...

[Skiron]

How else will a bit of muscle move along? It has to creep until they build little legs for it...

Re:This would explain...

[mikael]

Yep,

Sometime in the future, scientists sent out a fully automated research probe manned by cyborgs. Their prime directive was to collect as much information about other civilisations as possible, but not to give out any information on advanced technology or other civilisations. They were also allowed to provide assistance to any other vessels in distress, and augment their systems with anything they could salvage. But after visiting many planets and collecting much information, they soon realised that many

Re:This would explain...

[Maljin Jolt]

The source of the Borg!

My personal theory on origin of the Borg is they are toy of Q.

Mod Parent +Grotendous

[handy_vandal]

When you want to remove the rat robots from the patient, just flip them over and sprinkle a bit of parmesan around their anus and wait a few minutes.

Ewwwww ...! Dude, I did not need to imagine that scenario! Color my brain 'defiled' ....

-kgj

Awesome.

[StarKruzr]

I am fully in support of that.

Re:Why didn't they use ANT MUSCLE?

[ikkonoishi]

The exoskeleton does nothing [madsci.org]

These things are already as small as they can be.