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I’ve always been excited about Biocomputing. I think that it is a super cool, yet very sci-fi idea. Everyone once in awhile I see things like this and it keeps

I’ve always been excited about Biocomputing. I think that it is a super cool, yet very sci-fi idea. Everyone once in awhile I see things like this and it keeps the dream alive

thomashop 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenobot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenobot Xenobots built to date have been less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide and composed of just two things: skin cells and heart muscle cells, both of which are derived from stem cells harvested from early (blastula stage) frog embryos.[7] The skin cells provide rigid support and the heart cells act as small motors, contracting and expanding in volume to propel the xenobot forward. The shape of a xenobot's body, and its distribution of skin and heart cells, are automatically designed in simulation to perform a specific task, using a process of trial and error (an evolutionary algorithm). Xenobots have been designed to walk, swim, push pellets, carry payloads, and work together in a swarm to aggregate debris scattered along the surface of their dish into neat piles. They can survive for weeks without food and heal themselves after lacerations.[2] Other kinds of motors and sensors have been incorporated into xenobots. Instead of heart muscle, xenobots can grow patches of cilia and use them as small oars for swimming.[8] However, cilia-driven xenobot locomotion is currently less controllable than cardiac-driven xenobot locomotion.[9] An RNA molecule can also be introduced to xenobots to give them molecular memory: if exposed to specific kind of light during behavior, they will glow a prespecified color when viewed under a fluorescence microscope.[9] Xenobots can also self-replicate. Xenobots can gather loose cells in their environment, forming them into new xenobots with the same capability.[10][11][12]
- nextaccountic 3y ago
  Is this entirely simulated, or did someone built xenobots out of live cells in a lab culture? The wikipedia page is not clear Also about self replicating, does this mean reproduction? Are they a new species?
  - filoleg 3y ago
    Looking at the wikipedia page, I think they were built irl. They have many pics comparing “xenobots generated by a computer” to their “created in real life” analogs. That’s just what I got out of reading the page though, so I would be glad if someone with more subject knowledge could either confirm or deny the correctness of my understanding here.
    - thomashop 3y ago
      Scientific American had a great article recently about the lab: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brains-are-not-required-when-it-comes-to-thinking-and-solving-problems-simple-cells-can-do-it/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brains-are-not-re... I've been fascinated by Michael Levin's research since I stumbled upon him a few weeks ago.

I’ve always been excited about Biocomputing. I think that it is a super cool, yet very sci-fi idea. Everyone once in awhile I see things like this and it keeps the dream alive

thomashop 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenobot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenobot Xenobots built to date have been less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) wide and composed of just two things: skin cells and heart muscle cells, both of which are derived from stem cells harvested from early (blastula stage) frog embryos.[7] The skin cells provide rigid support and the heart cells act as small motors, contracting and expanding in volume to propel the xenobot forward. The shape of a xenobot's body, and its distribution of skin and heart cells, are automatically designed in simulation to perform a specific task, using a process of trial and error (an evolutionary algorithm). Xenobots have been designed to walk, swim, push pellets, carry payloads, and work together in a swarm to aggregate debris scattered along the surface of their dish into neat piles. They can survive for weeks without food and heal themselves after lacerations.[2] Other kinds of motors and sensors have been incorporated into xenobots. Instead of heart muscle, xenobots can grow patches of cilia and use them as small oars for swimming.[8] However, cilia-driven xenobot locomotion is currently less controllable than cardiac-driven xenobot locomotion.[9] An RNA molecule can also be introduced to xenobots to give them molecular memory: if exposed to specific kind of light during behavior, they will glow a prespecified color when viewed under a fluorescence microscope.[9] Xenobots can also self-replicate. Xenobots can gather loose cells in their environment, forming them into new xenobots with the same capability.[10][11][12]

nextaccountic 3y ago
Is this entirely simulated, or did someone built xenobots out of live cells in a lab culture? The wikipedia page is not clear Also about self replicating, does this mean reproduction? Are they a new species?
- filoleg 3y ago
  Looking at the wikipedia page, I think they were built irl. They have many pics comparing “xenobots generated by a computer” to their “created in real life” analogs. That’s just what I got out of reading the page though, so I would be glad if someone with more subject knowledge could either confirm or deny the correctness of my understanding here.
  - thomashop 3y ago
    Scientific American had a great article recently about the lab: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brains-are-not-required-when-it-comes-to-thinking-and-solving-problems-simple-cells-can-do-it/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/brains-are-not-re... I've been fascinated by Michael Levin's research since I stumbled upon him a few weeks ago.