Hatrack River Forum: Creepy Cool

This is topic Creepy Cool in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :

I was reading this artical on bbc and was blown away!

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Tiny robots powered by living muscle have been created by scientists

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Less than a millimetre long, the miniscule robots can move themselves without any external source of power.

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But when biological cells become attached to silicon - are they alive?

"They're absolutely alive," Professor Montemagno told BBC News. "I mean the cells actually grow, multiply and assemble - they form the structure themselves. So the device is alive."

My question is where do the muscles get the energy to grow and attatch? Is something eating something? Solar? Battery?

Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :

I imagine they are immersed in a nutrient solution and metabolically behave much the same way our cells do. Nutrients, salts, oxygen, etc move into the cells by osmosis and waste products move out of the cells in the same way. There are also active 'pumps' or gateways for certain necessary chemicals.