Robots Made from Human Cells Can Move on Their Own and Heal Wounds

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December 05, 2023

Hello Readers, I'm on the tech beat this week, sending you the most important stories we're covering. Researchers have constructed robots made from human cells (and called them "anthrobots"). The tiny machines can move, swim and heal their own wounds, and might in the future open the door to remarkable new treatments for human disease. Read more in this week's top story.

Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor @AGawrylewski

Evolution Robots Made from Human Cells Can Move on Their Own and Heal Wounds Researchers have created "anthrobots" out of human lung cells that are capable of moving independently and even healing damaged tissue By Philip Ball

Engineering Inside the Satellite Tech Revealing Gaza's Destruction Amid restrictions on optical satellite images, researchers have developed a radar technique to gauge building damage in Gaza By Lauren Leffer

Defense New Microwave Weapons Could Defend against Swarms of Combat Drones The Pentagon is readying high-powered microwave weapons that are capable of invisible strikes against swarming combat drones By Jason Sherman

Artificial Intelligence AI Teaches Robots the Best Way to Pack a Car, a Suitcase--Or a Rocket to Mars Robots that can fit multiple items into a limited space could help pack a suitcase or a rocket to Mars By Nick Hilden

Conservation Polar Bear Dens Are Hard for Humans to See, but Drone-Mounted Radar Can Help As humans encroach on polar bear habitats, new tools such as drone-mounted radar can prevent us from disrupting the hidden dens where bears give birth By Andrew Chapman

Engineering Light Can Travel Backward in Time (Sort Of) Light can be reflected not only in space but also in time—and researchers exploring such "time reflections" are finding a wealth of delightfully odd and useful effects By Anna Demming

Renewable Energy Google Taps Hot Rocks to Cool Climate The potential of geothermal energy as a carbon-free power source is well known. Now companies such as Google are helping to unlock it By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Climate Change Don't Fall for Big Oil's Carbon Capture Deceptions Carbon capture technology is a PR fig leaf designed to help Big Oil delay the phaseout of fossil fuels By Jonathan Foley

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Are they robots? Are they not? Are they organisms? Are they not? They are forcing us to blur previous distinctions which might allow us to see the world in a new way." Josh Bongard, professor of computer science at the University of Vermont.

FROM THE ARCHIVE These Researchers Used AI to Design a Completely New 'Animal Robot' "Xenobots" are living, swimming self-powered robots that measure less than a millimeter across. They are evolved by artificial intelligence and built out of frog stem cells—and they could open new medical frontiers. By Luke Groskin | March 2023

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