New innovation of science: biological robots

Over the ages, scientists have made our lives easier with a click we can get a cool breeze in hot sweltering summer, stay updated on the things happening around us and so much more. Every day the scientists are inventing or discovering something new. Recently, a group of scientists has done a revolutionary job that has stunned everyone. This group of scientists from Tufts University, the University of Vermont and the Wyss Institute at Harvard claim to develop first living robots. They have developed tiny, living organisms that can be programmed. This advanced form of robots can pick up objects, move and even heal themselves after being cut. The researchers call these robots ‘xenobots’. The researchers are hoping that these biological bots could be used to clean microplastics in the ocean or deliver drugs inside the human body someday. Joshua Bongard who co-leads the research in a statement revealed that they are neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It’s a new class of artefact, a living, programmable organism. The robots have been built using living cells from frog embryos, which have been then assembled into primitive beings. 

Robots are generally non-biodegradable in nature because of the components used to develop them, whereas these xenobots are fully biodegradable. It has been mentioned in the statement by Bongard that when the xenobots are done with their job after seven days, they’re just dead skin cells. Director of the Allen Discovery Centre at Tufts University, Michael Levin, who is also the co-author of this research said that these are very small and the plan is to make them to scale. Although, the xenobots could also be built with cells including blood vessels or nerve cells to increase cognitive skills. It is indeed a progressive measure that can change the entire world of science.   

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