Scientists have created tiny living robots made from human cells that can move around in a laboratory dish, and may one day be able to help heal wounds or damaged tissue.
According to CNN, to make these small robots, scientists took adult cells from the bronchial tubes of donors and created the appropriate conditions in the laboratory to encourage them (the cells) to grow and self-assemble, into so-called human-like robots.
The researchers observed that the robots move using hair-like protrusions, which are called cilia. But the big finding was that when the researchers had them encounter a human neuron with a small scratch, they saw it repair that scratch, which is why the researchers believe robots could be used in wound healing in the future.
One of the advantages of using robots in medicine is that they will be made from the patient’s own cells, and thus this reduces the risk of the body seeing them as something foreign and rejecting them.