Scientists have created living robots capable of self-replication
A group of American engineers presented to the public the artificial intelligence and hand-assembled xenobots - living mechanisms that are harvested from embryonic cells frogs. They found themselves to spontaneously reproduce themselves. This discovery will be discussed in the current material.
The first artificial living robots and the history of their creation
The first xenobots were shown by American scientists to the scientific community in 2020. In order to obtain such robots, scientists used stem cells extracted from the embryos of the South African frog Xenopus laevis.
At the same time, the scientists did not touch the genome, but performed the reprogramming of the cells. So in the embryo from the used cells, skin would be formed, but the engineers decided to get something different from them.
So after incubation, about 3000 cells were connected manually using special tweezers and microelectrodes.
The shape of the xenobots was suggested to scientists by artificial intelligence. After performing computer simulation, which, by the way, took place for several months on a supercomputer, the result was that the most effective for a xenobot would be a C-shape. Outwardly, it resembles the computer character Pacman - the hero of the computer game of the same name.
The xenobots collected in this way were able to move in the surrounding space, detect targets and even go through the process of self-healing after minor damage.
But that is not all. Engineers have endowed xenobots with the ability to create their own kind. To do this, ready-made living robots collect individual cells and hold them together for several days, thus turning scattered cells into "adult" xenobots.
Scientists call this process kinematic self-replication, and what is remarkable, previously such a process could only be observed at the molecular level.
Scientists are encouraged by the results of the experiment and believe that their successful experience will give a serious impetus to the development of this area of science.
This is how engineers suggest that through the study of xenobots, it is possible to better understand the process itself. reproduction, as well as literally collecting living machines designed for regenerative medicine.
In addition, such living robots can be useful in the development of the latest medicines and even for the purification of water bodies from microplastics.
The scientists shared the results of the work already done on the pages of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Did you like the material? Then rate it and don't forget to subscribe to the channel. Thank you for your attention!