Scientists should regard ethics as a step in the experiment, not just a condition for the approval of the experiment. Recently, according to the science and technology daily, the research team in the United States has created a self breeding alien robot (xenobots 3.0) for the first time in history. The Journal of the National Academy of Sciences published this research result. Strictly speaking, xenobots are neither traditional robots nor any known species. More strictly, xenobots is a living and programmable organism. Its emergence announced the birth of a new human creation. Researchers first extracted rapidly dividing stem cells from frog embryos, which normally develop into skin cells. After the engineering transformation of these cells, a living organism was created. In fact, xenobots were created in 2020 using frog embryonic cells. Under experimental conditions, these cells form small structures with the ability of self-assembly, group movement and self-organization to perceive the surrounding environment. From this point of view, the main breakthrough of xenobots this time is that it can replicate itself. Groups of xenobots will push loose cells together and eventually replicate themselves. Xenobots is the first multicellular organism found to reproduce in this way, and this replication is very efficient. Not surprisingly, this technology has brought a wealth of Engineering imagination. For example, xenobots can be put into the ocean to treat micro plastics and even used in regenerative medicine. However, this research achievement still has a long way to go before it can be truly applied. One risk is that xenobots that can replicate themselves may have a huge ecological impact if they leak out of the laboratory. It may not only transform the natural physical environment, but also create new species. Of course, we don't have to worry too much. The possibility of xenobots spreading widely in nature and causing huge ecological risks is far from realistic at present. Although the experimental work itself has strong engineering characteristics, its main purpose is not practical. At present, xenobots are mainly used as scientific tools to understand how cells cooperate to build complex structures during morphogenesis. As the researchers concerned said, "this work shows that there is a previously unknown way for life to replicate itself." this shows that multicellular organisms can replicate themselves without being in the life body to which they belong. These findings provide important inspiration for further understanding the origin of early life on earth. We should also see that in such experiments, science and technology ethics will become more and more important. Ethics should be an integral part of its experiments and should not be seen only as a checklist. Scientists should regard ethics as a step in the experiment, not just a condition for the approval of the experiment. It is said that the experiment has passed all necessary ethical reviews in the United States. First, the cells that make xenobots themselves are to develop into frog skin cells. If it cannot replicate itself, it will die. In this case, although it can be copied, the offspring copied each time are smaller than the original. After several generations of replication, xenobots with less than 50 cells lose their self replication ability. When the energy stored in the cells is exhausted, they will eventually die. (Xinhua News Agency)
Edit：Li Ling Responsible editor：Chen Jie
Source：BJNEWS
Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email：lwxsd@liaowanghn.com
Sci-Tech
Recommended Reading Change it 
Home
