Surely we won't see it until it's already infiltrating every kingdom and phylum -- what once was just a dumb robot, or a box of rocks, or a pile of dust, will soon be alive and trying to make its way in the world, commanding the same respect as the river in Ecuador that has rights, or the endangered animals in the Galapagos that have rights, or the dematerialized algorithms that exist as a dimensionally camouflaged meta-entity powered by economic incentive and psychological manipulation, which doesn't even need rights because it's the lifeline of global commerce.
One day we'll all be held ethically liable for treating our stuff like inert, soul-less matter.
Image credit: Daniel Knop via Nikon Small World - Embryonic development of a clownfish on days 1 - 9 - 2020
Starfish embryos swim in formation like a 'living crystal,' could inform the design of self assembling
Jul 2022, phys.org
Fakhri says the team's observations of starfish crystals was a "serendipitous discovery."She and her colleagues fertilized thousands of starfish embryos, then watched as they swam to the surface of shallow dishes. "There are thousands of embryos in a dish, and they start forming this crystal structure that can grow very large," Fakhri says. "We call it a crystal because each embryo is surrounded by six neighboring embryos in a hexagon that is repeated across the entire structure, very similar to the crystal structure in graphene."
via MIT: Nikta Fakhri, Odd dynamics of living chiral crystals, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04889-6.
A step toward the creation of materials controlled by artificial genes
Aug 2022, phys.org
"New types of soft material robots that are controlled by chemistry instead of electronics."
Say you're making artificial humans without saying you're making artificial humans.
"Engineering synthetic chemical systems that can emulate the complex behaviors of natural gene networks that operate inside diagnostic, self-healing materials rather than organisms."
via Johns Hopkins University: Samuel W. Schaffter et al, Standardized excitable elements for scalable engineering of far-from-equilibrium chemical networks, Nature Chemistry (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01001-3
Synthetic mouse embryo develops beating heart
Aug 2022, BBC News
Scientists in Cambridge have created synthetic mouse embryos in a lab, without using eggs or sperm, which show evidence of a brain and beating heart.At present, UK law permits human embryos to be studied in the laboratory only up to the fourteenth day of development, but there are no rules around synthetic embryos.
via University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology: Synthetic embryos complete gastrulation to neurulation and organogenesis. Gianluca Amadei et al. Nature. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05246-3
Robo-bug: A rechargeable, remote-controllable cyborg cockroach
Sep 2022, phys.org
Powered by a solar cell which is funny because roaches hang out in the dark mostly.
RIKEN: Yujiro Kakei et al, Integration of body-mounted ultrasoft organic solar cell on cyborg insects with intact mobility, npj Flexible Electronics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41528-022-00207-2
Nanotubes illuminate the way to living photovoltaics
Sep 2022, phys.org
"We put nanotubes inside of bacteria"
via Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne: Ardemis Boghossian et al, Carbon nanotube uptake in cyanobacteria for near-infrared imaging and enhanced bioelectricity generation in living photovoltaics, Nature Nanotechnology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01198-x
Post Script:
GlyNAC supplementation reverses aging hallmarks in aging humans
Aug 2022, phys.org
A randomized, double blind human clinical trial conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reveals that supplementation with GlyNAC—a combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine—improves many age-associated defects in older humans and powerfully promotes healthy aging.
via Baylor College of Medicine: Premranjan Kumar et al, Supplementing Glycine and N-Acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) in Older Adults Improves Glutathione Deficiency, Oxidative Stress, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Inflammation, Physical Function, and Aging Hallmarks: A Randomized Clinical Trial, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (2022). DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac135
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