By NEOSCOPE
Published on September 14, 2024
“The third state challenges how scientists typically understand cell behavior.”
Over the past several years, scientists have repeatedly demonstrated that the cells of various organisms can be repurposed into biological robots, representing stunning advancements in the field of synthetic biology.
Some types, like anthrobots, used human cells that could self-assemble into small, hairy structures capable of moving by themselves. Others, like xenobots, are a bit freakier: scientists created these from the cells of already dead frogs, which seemingly cheated death by remaining capable of performing simple tasks and even self-replication.
Now, in a new review published in the journal Physiology, researchers are contemplating the implications of taking cells — from organisms dead or alive — and essentially turning them into machines with totally new functions. Namely, that this points to a biological “third state” — one that doesn’t neatly fit into the categories of life and death.