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Scientists have created tiny living robots that move around from human cells When used in laboratory dishes, it could one day help heal wounds and damaged tissue, according to new research.
A team from Tufts University and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University named these creations human robots. This study builds on previous work by some of the same scientists. first living robotor xenobots, are created from stem cells taken from Xenopus laevis embryos.
“Some people thought that the characteristics of xenobots were largely dependent on the fact that they were embryonic and amphibian,” said study author Vannevar, professor of biology at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences. – Bush’s Michael Levin said.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with being a fetus. This has nothing to do with being a frog. I think this is a more general property of living things,” he said. Ta.
“We don’t understand all the capabilities of our own body’s cells.”
While alive, Unrobot did not have a complete life form, so it was not a full-fledged living thing. life cycle, Levin said.
“This is a reminder of the harsh binary categories we have been dealing with: Is that a robot? Is that an animal? Is that a machine? Things like this aren’t very helpful to us. we have to go beyond that. ”
The study was published Thursday. Journal “Advanced Science”.
Gizem Gumskaya, Tufts University
Gizem Gamskaya is a doctoral student at Tufts University who helped create the humanoid robot.
The researchers used adult cells from the trachea or trachea taken from anonymous donors of different ages and genders. Researchers focused on this type of cell because it was relatively easy to access to study COVID-19 and lung disease, and more importantly, scientists say it allows the cells to become motile. said study co-author Gizem. Gamskaya is a doctoral student at Tufts University.
Tracheal cells are covered with hair-like projections called cilia that wave back and forth. These normally help tracheal cells push out small particles that enter the airways of the lungs. Previous research has also shown that cells can form organoids, clumps of cells that are widely used in research.
Gumuskaya experimented with the chemical composition of the growth conditions for tracheal cells and discovered a way to encourage the cilia to point outward on the organoids. Once she found the right matrix, the organoids became mobile after a few days, with their cilia acting like oars.
“Nothing happened on days 1, 2, 4, or 5, but we saw a rapid change around day 7, as is usually the case in biology.” she said. “It was like a flower had bloomed. By the seventh day, the cilia had turned over and were on the outside.
“With our method, each humanoid robot grows from a single cell.”
This self-assembly is what makes them unique. Biological robots have been created by other scientists, but they were created by hand, by making molds and seeding them with living cells, Levin said.
Gizem Gumskaya, Tufts University
Each unrobot grows from a single cell.
various shapes and sizes
The human robots the team created were not identical.
Some were spherical and completely covered with cilia, while others were more like a football and irregularly covered with cilia. They also moved in different ways, according to a news release about the study. Some were in straight lines, some in tight circles, and others sat and wriggled around. They survived for up to 60 days under laboratory conditions.
Although the experiments outlined in this latest study are in their early stages, the goal is to see if human robots have medical applications, Levin and Gamskaya said. To see if such an application is possible, the researchers tested anth robots that moved over human neurons grown in laboratory dishes that were “scarred” to mimic injury. I checked to see if it was possible.
The researchers were surprised to see that the Ansu robot promoted the growth of neurons in damaged areas, but the researchers still don’t understand how. healing mechanism, the study noted.
Falk Tauber, group leader at the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspiration Technology at the University of Freiburg in Germany, said the research could lead to a future in which biobots could be used for different functions and made in different shapes. said it provided a baseline for its efforts.
Gizem Gumskaya, Tufts University
The green humanoid robot grows beyond the wound, penetrating the red neural tissue.
Tauber, who was not involved in the study, said the Ans robot showed “remarkable behavior”, particularly in moving across and ultimately closing the wound on human neurons.
He said the ability to create these structures from a patient’s own cells suggests diverse applications both in the lab and perhaps eventually within the human body.
Levin said he doesn’t think Unrobot raises any ethical or safety concerns. They are not made from human embryos and have not undergone highly restricted research or been genetically modified in any way, he said.
“They live in a very restricted environment, so there’s no possibility of them getting out of the lab in any way or living outside of the lab. They live in a very restricted environment. I can’t survive,” he said. “They have a natural lifespan, so they seamlessly biodegrade after a few weeks.”