Self-replicating Xenobots Created by Scientists | News
In a breakthrough that could have been plucked from the pages of a science fiction pot, researchers have created swarms of “living robots” capable of reproducing in ways never seen before.
The “xenobots” are about a millimeter in diameter and take the form of clusters of cells shaped like Pac-Man.
They can make copies of themselves by assembling new groups of cells, a process that will repeat itself for several generations.
“This work is the realization of a dream of scientists and science fiction authors since the 1940s: self-replicating machines,” said Professor Joshua Bongard of the University of Vermont, one of the project leaders.
He hopes that one day similar xenobots could be used in medicine, possibly to repair damaged tissue. Each “bot” is formed
