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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday September 19 2017, @02:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-baymax dept.

Biochemical engineers at Johns Hopkins University used sequences of DNA molecules to cause water-based gels to change shape, demonstrating a new tactic to produce soft robots and "smart" medical devices that don't rely on cumbersome wires, batteries, or tethers.

[...] The team members reported that their process used specific DNA sequences called "hairpins" to cause a centimeter-sized hydrogel sample to swell to 100 times its original volume. The reaction was then halted by a different DNA sequence, dubbed a "terminator hairpin." This approach could make it possible to weave moving parts into soft materials, which, the researchers said, could someday play a role in creating smart materials, metamorphic devices, complex programmed actuators, and autonomous robots with potential marine and medical applications.

To control how shape-shifting occurs in different parts of the target hydrogel, the researchers took a cue from the computer industry. They employed a photo-patterning technique similar to the one used to make tiny but intricate microchips. Various biochemical patterns embedded in different regions of the gel were designed to respond to specific DNA instructions to cause bending, folding, or other responses.

I, for one, welcome our gelatinous robotic overlords!

Angelo Cangialosi et al. DNA sequence–directed shape change of photopatterned hydrogels via high-degree swelling, Science (2017). DOI: 10.1126/science.aan3925


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  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @02:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @02:36PM (#570192)

    Keep hangin round with Dick Niggers yo gonna catch somethin stiff.

    Dick Niggers we never fuck no old pussy.

    You know we do we fuck a whole lotta young pussy.

    Aw hell no, ain't no decoy robot pussy be trickin us Dick Niggers. We comin for ya, girl, fill ya real pussy full of genuine pure nigger DNA.

  • (Score: 1) by liberza on Tuesday September 19 2017, @04:21PM

    by liberza (6137) on Tuesday September 19 2017, @04:21PM (#570241)

    So when are we getting 7nm DNA fabs?

  • (Score: 2) by leftover on Tuesday September 19 2017, @06:23PM (1 child)

    by leftover (2448) on Tuesday September 19 2017, @06:23PM (#570293)

    I was going to refer to these as 'thoughts' but they probably don't qualify.
    First: We need a convention or rule that before any article even mentions the word "robot" there needs to be a video of an object moving repeatably under external control. Any material that so much as slumps is being touted as the future of robotics. The car analogy: anything that rolls downhill being touted as the future of transportation.

    Second: any article that mentions "high-degree swelling" should be tagged with both 'biomedical' and 'porn'. More interesting than 'robot' anyway.

    --
    Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @06:54PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 19 2017, @06:54PM (#570303)

      We don't have tags here. That's a Slashdot thing.

  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 20 2017, @12:11PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday September 20 2017, @12:11PM (#570588)

    100x volume is 4.6x length on all three dimensions - pretty impressive.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
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