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A group of researchers from Rice University pose with a toy spider to celebrate their 2023 Ig Nobel Prize.
2023 Ig Nobel Prize for Gripping Work on Dead Spiders
Rice University researchers claimed the Ig Nobel Prize for upleveling biorobotics by transforming deceased spiders into robotic grippers.
2023 Ig Nobel Prize for Gripping Work on Dead Spiders
2023 Ig Nobel Prize for Gripping Work on Dead Spiders

Rice University researchers claimed the Ig Nobel Prize for upleveling biorobotics by transforming deceased spiders into robotic grippers.

Rice University researchers claimed the Ig Nobel Prize for upleveling biorobotics by transforming deceased spiders into robotic grippers.

robotics

orange tiny frog
Caught on Camera
The Scientist Staff | Aug 15, 2022 | 2 min read
See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist
a skin-coated robot finger sits in a petri dish of culture media
Robot Finger’s Living Skin Stretches, Heals Like the Real Thing
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Jun 10, 2022 | 2 min read
Researchers in Japan have given a plastic robot finger a layered coating made from actual, living skin cells. Next, they aim to add hair and sweat glands.
goldfish in tank
Researchers Train Goldfish to “Drive”
Chloe Tenn | Jan 12, 2022 | 6 min read
The Scientist spoke with cognitive neuroscientist Ronen Segev about how he taught goldfish to maneuver a moveable tank over land toward a visual target.
colored microscope photo of xenobot
“Xenobot” Living Robots Can Reproduce
Chloe Tenn | Dec 2, 2021 | 2 min read
Biological robots made from frog cells can replicate by smooshing loose cells into new robots—a reproduction method not seen in any other organism.
With video
An illustration of a microscope objecting beaming blue light onto a nematode worm with the labels objective, agar substrate, micro laser beams, paralyzed c. elegans, and controlled c. elegans movement
AI Controls Laser-Guided Robot Worms
Ruth Williams | Jul 8, 2021 | 3 min read
Automated control of light-responsive nematode worms marks the first foray into the development of multicellular, biorobotic organisms.
neutrobots, neutrophils, white blood cells, microrobots, nanorobots, microbots, glioma, brain cancer, paclitaxel, magnetic, swarm, mice
Microscopic Robots Deliver Drugs to the Brain
Asher Jones | Mar 30, 2021 | 5 min read
Researchers turned white blood cells called neutrophils into drug-smuggling “neutrobots,” which penetrated the blood-brain barrier to treat brain cancer in mice.
Infographic: Building Bacteria to Fight Cancer
Simone Schuerle and Tal Danino | Apr 1, 2020 | 3 min read
Researchers are engineering microbes to deliver therapeutics specifically to tumors, maximizing the treatments’ efficacy while minimizing side effects.
Bacteria as Living Microrobots to Fight Cancer
Simone Schuerle and Tal Danino | Apr 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
Autonomous, living microrobots that seek and destroy cancer are not as futuristic as one might imagine, thanks to a fusion of robotics and synthetic biology.
Image of the Day: Jetpack Jellyfish
Amy Schleunes | Feb 10, 2020 | 1 min read
Jellyfish fitted with energy efficient controllers could one day find a job on ocean explorations.
Image of the Day: Bionic Heart
Amy Schleunes | Jan 30, 2020 | 1 min read
A bioengineered heart made of pig and synthetic tissues beats like the real thing.
frog robot
Algorithm Designs Robots Using Frog Cells
Emma Yasinski | Jan 13, 2020 | 3 min read
Scientists carve the shapes from piles of frog cells, like a sculptor building a statue.
Image of the Day: Fly Reconstruction
Emily Makowski | Sep 27, 2019 | 1 min read
Scientists create a micro-CT scan image of Drosophila in fine detail.
Image of the Day: Tunabot
Emily Makowski | Sep 25, 2019 | 1 min read
This fish-inspired robot swims at greater speeds than previous ones.
Image of the Day: Flying Fish Robot
Emily Makowski | Sep 18, 2019 | 2 min read
The developers envision their device could be used to collect water samples in hazardous environments.
jellyfish robot soft body robotics swimming untethered burrowing carrying load
Image of the Day: Jelly Bot
Chia-Yi Hou | Jul 3, 2019 | 1 min read
See a tiny, jellyfish-like robot swim, burrow, and carry beads.
robobee insect robot flying untethered Harvard microrobotics micro robotics mini robots
Image of the Day: Bee Bot
Chia-Yi Hou | Jul 1, 2019 | 1 min read
Developers made an insect-like robot with two pairs of wings.
robotic fish artificial synthetic blood battery operated soft body mechanical animal
Image of the Day: Imitation Fish
Chia-Yi Hou | Jun 20, 2019 | 1 min read
Scientists create a soft-bodied robotic fish that pumps synthetic blood and swims on its own.
bob murphy
Robert Murphy Bets Self-Driving Instruments Will Crack Biology’s Mysteries
Shawna Williams | May 1, 2019 | 9 min read
The Carnegie Mellon computational biologist thinks machine learning algorithms can direct high-throughput experiments to solve the field’s unanswered questions.
Self-Navigating Catheter Designed for Heart Surgery Tested in Pigs
Ruth Williams | Apr 24, 2019 | 3 min read
The robotic catheter can guide its own movements within the heart of a live mammal to the site of a leaky valve replacement.
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