Living robots can reproduce on their own in a dish. This is not a science-fiction movie, but the result of a new research. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US on Nov 29.
Xenobots, a type of tiny robot, were first created in 2020, using cells taken from the embryo of an African frog species. Under the right lab conditions, the cells formed small structures that could self-assemble, move in groups and react to their environment. Now, the researchers have found that xenobots can also self-replicate (自我复制), according to the journal of New Scientist.
But are they living organisms or robots? They are organisms because they are made of stem cells and can reproduce. And they are also robots because they can move on their own and perform physical labor, co-author Sam Kriegman told The Washington Post.
“People have thought for quite a long time that we’ve worked out all the ways that life can reproduce or replicate. But this is something that’s never been observed before,” co-author Douglas Blackiston, a senior scientist at Tufts University in the US, told Science Daily website.
The ability to replicate adds a new layer of potential utility to the robots. Kriegman told The Washington Post that while xenobots are not yet commercially useful, they have the potential to provide a number of services, from cleaning up microplastics in the ocean to safely delivering drugs to a specific spot in a person’s body.
However, the creation of xenobots comes with concerns. Some think more advanced future xenobots, especially ones that live longer and reproduce, could out-compete other species, according to The Conversation, an Australia news media.
The researchers think these risks are manageable. “If you change the amount of sodium in that water to be too high or too low, they’ll die,” Kriegman told The Washington Post. “If there’s a piece of copper in the dish, they’ll all die. It’s an extremely controllable and stoppable and safe system.”
12. What do we know about xenobots according to the passage?
A.They should be classified into frog species. |
B.They can reproduce and replicate themselves. |
C.They can adapt to the environment anywhere. |
D.They were created based on science fiction movies. |
13. How do scientists feel the way that xenobots reproduce?
A.Unexpected. | B.Predictable. |
C.Doubted. | D.Unaccepted. |
14. What effects do xenonots have on humans?
A.They are expected to replace other species. |
B.They have been used widely commercially. |
C.They will serve human beings more extensively. |
D.They will further explore their own potential ability. |
15. What’s Kriegman’s attitude towards the xenobots’ future?
A.Worried. | B.Cautious. |
C.Neutral. | D.Optimistic. |