Tiny Living Robots Made From Human Cells Surprise Scientists

'Scientists have created tiny living robots from human cells,' reports CNN. The mini-bots 'can move around in a lab dish and may one day be able to help heal wounds or damaged tissue, according to a new study. '

The study's lead author tells CNN, 'We don't realize all the competencies that our own body cells have.'

A team at Tufts University and Harvard University's Wyss Institute have dubbed these creations anthrobots. The research builds on earlier work from some of the same scientists, who made the first living robots, or xenobots, from stem cells sourced from embryos of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)...

The scientists used adult human cells from the trachea, or windpipe, from anonymous donors of different ages and sexes... The tracheal cells are covered with hairlike projections called cilia that wave back and forth. They usually help the tracheal cells push out tiny particles that find their way into air passages of the lungs. Earlier studies had also shown that the cells can form organoids — clumps of cells widely used for research. Study coauthor Gizem Gumuskaya experimented with the chemical composition of the tracheal cells' growth conditions and found a way to encourage the cilia to face outward on the organoids. Once she had found the right matrix, the organoids became mobile after a few days, with the cilia acting a bit like oars...

'In our method, each anthrobot grows from a single cell.' It's this self-assembly that makes them unique. Biological robots have been made by other scientists, but they were constructed by hand by making a mold and seeding cells to live on top of it, said study author Michael Levin... They survived up to 60 days in laboratory conditions.

The experiments outlined in this latest study are at an early stage, but the goal is to find out whether the anthrobots could have medical applications, Levin and Gumuskaya said. To see whether such applications might be possible, researchers examined whether the anthrobots were able to move over human neurons grown in a lab dish that had been 'scratched' to mimic damage. They were surprised to see the anthrobots encouraged growth to the damaged region of the neurons, although the researchers don't yet understand the healing mechanism, the study noted.

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