A groundbreaking study has created a new type of robot, called neurobots, that can form functional nervous systems within its cellular structure. This innovation allows the robots to exhibit complex movement patterns, display distinct gene expression profiles, and potentially heal neural wounds. The team, led by Dr. Michael Levin, has demonstrated that these novel beings can reveal important aspects of multicellular plasticity, with implications for evolutionary biology, bioengineering, and regenerative medicine. By integrating neuronal precursor cells into biobots, the researchers created a nervous system that enables the robots to move more actively, display increased activity, and undergo substantial changes in global gene expression. The study’s findings have major implications for neuroscience, organ engineering, and novel biological entities with programmable functions.
Source: https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/toward-autonomous-self-organizing-biological-robots-with-a-nervous-system