Comments on: These bots were made for walking: cells power biological machines http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-bots-were-made-for-walking-cells-power-biological-machines Accelerating Intelligence Sat, 25 May 2013 04:13:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: asiwel http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-bots-were-made-for-walking-cells-power-biological-machines/comment-page-1#comment-54668 asiwel Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:01:15 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=171346#comment-54668 Thank you. And I have read the paper which was, in fact, pretty interesting. What I did not really pick up on in the above report is the emphasis on [i]" ... The cells have to thrive, communicate, and proliferate in such a micro-environment while performing their designated functions. These engineered 2D and 3D micro-environments should form the scaffolding of biological machines, and should have spatially controlled mechanical and chemical properties to control their functionalities. The development of enabling technologies that can fabricate the desired intelligent scaffold will greatly expedite the development of biological machines."[/i] Indeed, they are designing "assistive technology" - i.e., "bio-tools" and environmental supports to allow various collections of cells to accomplish some purpose in vivo. They are focusing on cellular "enabling technologies" which is a very interesting idea in itself. Thank you. And I have read the paper which was, in fact, pretty interesting. What I did not really pick up on in the above report is the emphasis on [i]” … The cells have to thrive, communicate, and proliferate in such a micro-environment while performing their designated functions. These engineered 2D and 3D micro-environments should form the scaffolding of biological machines, and should have spatially controlled mechanical and chemical properties to control their functionalities. The development of enabling technologies that can fabricate the desired intelligent scaffold will greatly expedite the development of biological machines.”[/i]

Indeed, they are designing “assistive technology” – i.e., “bio-tools” and environmental supports to allow various collections of cells to accomplish some purpose in vivo. They are focusing on cellular “enabling technologies” which is a very interesting idea in itself.

]]> By: Editor http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-bots-were-made-for-walking-cells-power-biological-machines/comment-page-1#comment-54258 Editor Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:45:32 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=171346#comment-54258 I just added this: According to the paper, "examples of uses include sensing, information processing, transport, protein expression, and actuation. By combining clusters of different cell types, complex biological machines can possibly be created for specific applications in health, security, and the environment. Exemplary biological machines include organ mimics for drug testing, biological robots for replication and repair, and implantable systems for drug sensing, synthesis, and release." See the reference (open access) for more. I just added this:

According to the paper, “examples of uses include sensing, information processing, transport, protein expression, and actuation. By combining clusters of different cell types, complex biological machines can possibly be created for specific applications in health, security, and the environment. Exemplary biological machines include organ mimics for drug testing, biological robots for replication and repair, and implantable systems for drug sensing, synthesis, and release.”

See the reference (open access) for more.

]]> By: Gorden Russell http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-bots-were-made-for-walking-cells-power-biological-machines/comment-page-1#comment-54254 Gorden Russell Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:33:55 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=171346#comment-54254 "...make these millimeter-scale shapes..." They certainly are doing fine work with their 3-D printers...and they are doing fascinating work with hydrogels. “…make these millimeter-scale shapes…”

They certainly are doing fine work with their 3-D printers…and they are doing fascinating work with hydrogels.

]]> By: asiwel http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-bots-were-made-for-walking-cells-power-biological-machines/comment-page-1#comment-54253 asiwel Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:32:16 +0000 http://www.kurzweilai.net/?p=171346#comment-54253 What exactly keeps these muscle cells alive? This "bio-bot" appears to be a muscle cell attached to some pieces of "assistive technology". One would assume that this same contraption would "move" if powered by a twisted rubber band. The application here is interesting but I would like to understand more about its utility values .. for research, for medicine, for whatever ...? How is this better for drug screening or chemical analysis than dozens of other approaches? What exactly keeps these muscle cells alive? This “bio-bot” appears to be a muscle cell attached to some pieces of “assistive technology”. One would assume that this same contraption would “move” if powered by a twisted rubber band. The application here is interesting but I would like to understand more about its utility values .. for research, for medicine, for whatever …? How is this better for drug screening or chemical analysis than dozens of other approaches?

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