The pioneer of living robots has made another breakthrough!Use human cells to create biorobots

Mondo Technology Updated on 2024-01-19

Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see robots made from chemically synthesized materials, capable of transporting, delicate manipulation, and even working with humans. In recent years, with the gradual entry of microrobots into the biomedical field, the minimally invasive, advanced and intelligent medical methods based on them have shown great application prospects, and have given birth to an urgent demand for new biological robots. A few days ago, a team of researchers from Tufts University and Harvard's WYSS Institute took advantage ofHuman tracheal cellsA micro-biological robot "anthrobots" was created. Such robots can assemble and move themselves without genetic modification, and when they are added to injured neurons, they can also help neurons repair themselves. Related** Motile Living Biobots Self-Construct from Adult Human Somatic Progenitor Seed Cells have been published in the journal Advanced Science.

*:Advanced Science) While it's unclear exactly how Anthrobots promotes neuronal growth, the results of the study suggest that it does have a ** effect on damaged neurons. This biorobot derived from human cells may become a new starting point in the fields of regenerative medicine and neuroscience. It is worth noting that the corresponding author of this study.

1. Michael Levin, a developmental biologist from Tufts University, is known for creating the world's first reproducible "living robot". In addition, he has successfully used biological circuits to modify species and repair organs. The study was funded in part by a start-up called Astonishing Labs, where Michael Levin, a scientific co-founder. It is reported that the company aims to use biorobotics to ** neurological diseases and nerve and spinal cord injuries, but so far, the company has not disclosed any scientific and technical information. Organ-cell manufacturing robots are usedAbout four years ago, Michael Levin, using the embryonic cells of the African clawed frog, created his first living robot, "Xenobots". The living robot has a ciliated structure that allows it to move freely, carry drugs and even replicate itself. Xenobots are just the first step in Levin's research programThe success of this step proves that the idea of designing and building a biorobot from scratch is feasible. "By adding additional biological components and combining them with computer design, 3D cell printing, one could develop a diverse range of living machines capable of delivering drugs, removing blockages in small capillaries, or collecting microplastics from the ocean," he envisions. "However, considering that the human immune system may not be able to accept such amphibian-based biorobots, the ideal biocompatible material for human application will come from the humans themselves. In this study, first author Gizem Gumuskaya fromCells on the surface of the tracheaThese cells can move back and forth due to their ciliated structure. Gumuskaya places single cells into a 3D scaffold made from rat tissue, and in the process, it is also necessary to change the viscosity level of the medium to induce the cilia present inside the cell to turn to the outside of the cell. After two weeks, the cells multiply and form tiny spheres of varying shapes.

Fig丨The types of motion and morphology of different spheres are highly correlated (**advanced science).This biorobot is made from ** cells and does not need to undergo any genetic modification. "By reprogramming the interactions between cells, new multicellular structures can be created, similar to how different structures such as walls, arches, or pillars can be built using stones and bricks to play different roles." ”Despite having the same DNA, the resulting spheroids vary in size and shape. Some of them are spherical and completely covered with cilia;Some are irregularly shaped but are covered with more patchy cilia. And because of the different shapes, the type of movement of these spheres also varies. Depending on the shape, size, and position of the cilia, some of them travel in a straight line, some move in a circle, or they simply oscillate. "Just like fingerprints, no two spheres are the same," says Gumuskaya, who typically survive for about 45-60 days under laboratory conditions and then degrade naturally.

"Super robots" repair nerve cell damageIn Levin's plan, he intends to build Anthrobots into a biological robot with the best function. To achieve this, the Levin team chose to place Anthrobots in damaged nerve cells to evaluate its effect on nerve cells. Specifically, the research team first constructed a two-dimensional layer of human neurons in a petri dish, and then scraped the layer with a thin metal rod to create an open "wound" without cells. And when Gumuskaya added a swarm of robots to a petri dish, she found that Anthrobots were able to effectively pass through damaged tissue. In addition to this, there are also significant differences in the trajectory of robots with higher rotational tendencies and/or higher speeds. After observing the robot's movement behavior through scratches, the researchers thought that a larger structure could be formed by facilitating the random aggregation of different robots, allowing them to complete some "collective tasks". They named this larger structure "Super Robot". It's like a swarm of ants can gather to form a bridge and then collectively cross a ditch. Instead of using any molds or external devices, the researchers confined many anthrobots to a relatively small area while leaving everything else intact, and these anthrobots did the random aggregation on their own. Gumuskaya explainedThe cell itself has the ability to self-assemble into a larger structure in some basic way. "Cells can communicate with each other and create different structures dynamically, and each cell is programmed to have many functions, such as motility, molecular secretion, signal detection, etc. We just find ways to combine these elements to create new organisms and functions. "Even more surprising is that within 72 hours of inoculating the "super robot" into a tissue scratch, the investigators foundThe native tissue underwent a regenerative behavior, allowing the scratch to begin to close, and this closure only occurred at the superrobot inoculation site.

Figure Robots can promote the closure of the interstitial space of living neurons (**advanced science)After that, Levin also added a controlled experiment, the results of which confirmed that using inanimate substances such as starch or silicone to build similar "bridges" did not produce ** results. Levin speculates that as living tissue, the robot may help nerve cells on one side of the scratch sense the location of the other so that they can "initiate" growth behavior. "Levin's research proves that engineered and trained cells can do things they wouldn't otherwise do," says Ron Weiss, a synthetic biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Overall, there is still a lot of potential for these robots to be tapped. The researchers further noted that with the gradual progress of biorobotics, its potential applications are huge. From removing atherosclerotic plaques to repairing nerve damage, identifying and ** cancer, and more, a variety of different fields of medicine may be revolutionized with the help of micro-biorobots. Disclaimer: This article aims to convey the latest information of the life sciences and medical and health industry, and does not represent the position of the platform, and does not constitute any investment advice and recommendations. This article is not a **plan recommendation, if you need to get **plan guidance, please go to a regular hospital for treatment. Material**Official** Network News.

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