The world’s first living robots — known as “xenobots” — can now reproduce, US scientists have revealed.
Details about the robots, created using the heart and skin stem cells from the African clawed frog, were unveiled last year after experiments showed they could move and self-heal.
Now, the scientists at Tufts University, the University of Vermont and Harvard who made the xenobots say the tiny blobs can also self-replicate.
The results of the new research were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
Experiments showed that the organisms can swim out into their dish, find other single cells and assemble “baby” xenobots.
“This is profound,” added Michael Levin, co-leader of the research. “These cells have the genome of a frog, but, freed from becoming tadpoles, they use their collective intelligence, a plasticity, to do something astounding.”
The team said the new research could be beneficial for advancements in regenerative medicine.
“If we knew how to tell collections of cells to do what we wanted them to do, ultimately, that’s regenerative medicine — that’s the solution to traumatic injury, birth defects, cancer, and aging,” Levin said.
World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say
Details about the robots, created using the heart and skin stem cells from the African clawed frog, were unveiled last year after experiments showed they could move and self-heal.
Now, the scientists at Tufts University, the University of Vermont and Harvard who made the xenobots say the tiny blobs can also self-replicate.
The results of the new research were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
Experiments showed that the organisms can swim out into their dish, find other single cells and assemble “baby” xenobots.
“This is profound,” added Michael Levin, co-leader of the research. “These cells have the genome of a frog, but, freed from becoming tadpoles, they use their collective intelligence, a plasticity, to do something astounding.”
The team said the new research could be beneficial for advancements in regenerative medicine.
“If we knew how to tell collections of cells to do what we wanted them to do, ultimately, that’s regenerative medicine — that’s the solution to traumatic injury, birth defects, cancer, and aging,” Levin said.
World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say