Xenobot, The discovery of science, will it be a savior or vice versa?
The latest discovery by scientists at the University of Vermont, United States is also quite shaking the world. They create new creatures that they implant from stem cells from frog embryos. But what is unique is that these organic creatures can also be called machines because they are a combination of computer science, robotics and biology.
Its growth can be controlled by scientists using computer programs with complex algorithms. In other words, the new creature is a fleshy robot or can be called a living robot.
Two of its founders, Doctor Sam Kriegman and Joshua Bongard, both of whom are robotics experts from the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vermont, call their creations xenobots. Joshua on his campus website said that this creature is not a robot or a new animal species, but another type of creature, which is a programmable living thing.
This xenobot is made using stem cells from a type of frog from Africa whose scientific name is Xenopus laevis. The xenobot is very microscopic, only one millimeter wide and composed of a network of living amphibians, but designed using a computer model.
This Xenobot, like a robot, can be programmed and ordered to do anything. However, like living things, xenobots are able to move, can even heal wounds on their own, and can live for weeks.
Unlike robots, xenobots do not need batteries or external electrical impulses to power. Xenobots have muscle tissue that functions like a heart. Uniquely, through computers, scientists can regulate the heart rate and even the direction of movement. In fact, if scientists cut this xenobot's body in half, it would be able to heal itself and recombine into one piece.
But, of course, this new discovery not only amazed, it triggered anxiety and fear. What if this xenobot had a mind of its own and started to rebel? Moreover, his unique ability in self-healing reminds us of the antagonist in the Terminator movie, so that if one day there is a problem, this creature can hardly be exterminated.
The scenario for making xenobots is almost similar to the plot of one of the science fiction novels created by Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park, entitled Prey. In the novel, genetic engineering and nanotechnology scientists have succeeded in creating new xenobot-like organisms called nanobots that eventually kill one scientist after another, and even evolve to be able to infect humans.
This is of course worrying because in the future this xenobot is intended for use in the medical world by injecting it into the human body to transport drugs into the patient's body.
This scientific discovery is arguably equivalent to the controversy that arose when physicists at CERN, Europe, discovered the god particle thanks to their research in the Large Hadron Collider. At the time, even physicists like Stephen Hawkins warned that the discovery of such particles could lead to apocalyptic events that could destroy the universe. The reason is, it is feared that the discovery of divine particles could trigger the creation of black holes that could eventually eat all life on earth.
However, the risk of xenobot that is feared is too early to be discussed seriously, because xenobot itself is still in the laboratory stage and has not been mass produced. Of course, scientists will assess the pros and cons before releasing it to the public. This technological advancement also brings new hope to the development of the medical world and who knows this xenobot can be used to cure diseases that have yet to be found a cure.
