Tiny Living Robots Made From Human Cells Surprise Scientists (cnn.com) 14
"Scientists have created tiny living robots from human cells," reports CNN. The mini-bots "can move around in a lab dish and may one day be able to help heal wounds or damaged tissue, according to a new study. "
The study's lead author tells CNN, "We don't realize all the competencies that our own body cells have." A team at Tufts University and Harvard University's Wyss Institute have dubbed these creations anthrobots. The research builds on earlier work from some of the same scientists, who made the first living robots, or xenobots, from stem cells sourced from embryos of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)...
The scientists used adult human cells from the trachea, or windpipe, from anonymous donors of different ages and sexes... The tracheal cells are covered with hairlike projections called cilia that wave back and forth. They usually help the tracheal cells push out tiny particles that find their way into air passages of the lungs. Earlier studies had also shown that the cells can form organoids — clumps of cells widely used for research. Study coauthor Gizem Gumuskaya experimented with the chemical composition of the tracheal cells' growth conditions and found a way to encourage the cilia to face outward on the organoids. Once she had found the right matrix, the organoids became mobile after a few days, with the cilia acting a bit like oars...
"In our method, each anthrobot grows from a single cell." It's this self-assembly that makes them unique. Biological robots have been made by other scientists, but they were constructed by hand by making a mold and seeding cells to live on top of it, said study author Michael Levin... They survived up to 60 days in laboratory conditions.
The experiments outlined in this latest study are at an early stage, but the goal is to find out whether the anthrobots could have medical applications, Levin and Gumuskaya said. To see whether such applications might be possible, researchers examined whether the anthrobots were able to move over human neurons grown in a lab dish that had been "scratched" to mimic damage. They were surprised to see the anthrobots encouraged growth to the damaged region of the neurons, although the researchers don't yet understand the healing mechanism, the study noted.
The study's lead author tells CNN, "We don't realize all the competencies that our own body cells have." A team at Tufts University and Harvard University's Wyss Institute have dubbed these creations anthrobots. The research builds on earlier work from some of the same scientists, who made the first living robots, or xenobots, from stem cells sourced from embryos of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)...
The scientists used adult human cells from the trachea, or windpipe, from anonymous donors of different ages and sexes... The tracheal cells are covered with hairlike projections called cilia that wave back and forth. They usually help the tracheal cells push out tiny particles that find their way into air passages of the lungs. Earlier studies had also shown that the cells can form organoids — clumps of cells widely used for research. Study coauthor Gizem Gumuskaya experimented with the chemical composition of the tracheal cells' growth conditions and found a way to encourage the cilia to face outward on the organoids. Once she had found the right matrix, the organoids became mobile after a few days, with the cilia acting a bit like oars...
"In our method, each anthrobot grows from a single cell." It's this self-assembly that makes them unique. Biological robots have been made by other scientists, but they were constructed by hand by making a mold and seeding cells to live on top of it, said study author Michael Levin... They survived up to 60 days in laboratory conditions.
The experiments outlined in this latest study are at an early stage, but the goal is to find out whether the anthrobots could have medical applications, Levin and Gumuskaya said. To see whether such applications might be possible, researchers examined whether the anthrobots were able to move over human neurons grown in a lab dish that had been "scratched" to mimic damage. They were surprised to see the anthrobots encouraged growth to the damaged region of the neurons, although the researchers don't yet understand the healing mechanism, the study noted.
Incoming QAnon (Score:2)
In three, two, . . .
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The anthrobots name sure does sound like... (Score:2)
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0... [imdb.com]
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Raquel Welch please. Hold the submarine.
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Silo (Score:2)
Have these people not read 'Shift' - the 2nd book in the 'Silo' series by Hugh Howey?
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Honestly, probably not. This is the first I've heard of that book and I read quite a bit sci fi.
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I wouldn't really bother. I read a lot of SF and I've read that series. It's not terrible. It takes several elements explored in other SF books and ties them together reasonably well. But it doesn't really take it anywhere other than standard dystopian thriller territory and the dialogue is wooden at best, frankly terrible in places.I wouldn't say I regret reading it, but if I'd known in advance where it was going to take the story I wouldn't have bothered in the first place, and I found the writing style f
Sorry, but nope. No "living robots" (Score:5, Informative)
They manipulated some cells making them grow a bit differently and then watched them live for a while and die. That's essentially it. They could do nothing productive with them, not even control them.
If, someday, they can get such cells to be remotely controlled then they will have created a spiffy microscopic version of a Waldo [wikipedia.org] - which is still NOT A ROBOT.
These folks are many decades away from a tiny self-contained object that contains some processing power and can be programmed to carry out a task without a human holding a joystick. What they have (and it's a BIG concession to say they have anything) is miles away from anything that meets any normal person's idea of a "robot". People with research jobs sure are desperate to get published these days.
This story is a bad example of cheap CNN clickbait.
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Right on brother - entirely correct.
Although, I would make a minor correction. They did not "manipulate some cells". They manipulated the cells' environment. Structural morphologies in biological systems are mostly self-organizing. Remember, there are no architecture or blueprint genes (discounting the structural polymers), just process and process control genes (enzymes). Cells make structures as expected when they are in their natural environment. Alter the environment, and the cells will respond ap