Spectacular comeback The new boom in the solar industry

As of: 06/24/2021 8:03 a.m.

After years of decline and bankruptcies, the solar industry in Germany is experiencing a comeback. Even solar cells are being produced again in this country. Help is also coming from the coalition.

From Lothar Gries, tagesschau.de

While the expansion of wind turbines is stalling, photovoltaic systems are enjoying ever greater popularity. In a tender in March, the Federal Network Agency was literally overrun with applications. There were more than twice as many interested parties as expected. Much to the delight of the Union and the SPD, who are agreed on an immediate program for energy and climate protection shortly before the summer break . After the federal cabinet yesterday given the green light has, the package should to be passed by the Bundestag today . According to this, the tender volumes for photovoltaic systems will be increased by 4.1 gigawatts to six gigawatts from next year. In the future, the municipalities will also be able to participate financially in photovoltaic areas. Until now, this was only possible with wind turbines. The Union and the SPD could not agree on a solar obligation for new buildings. Consumer advocates and the Haus und Grund association had heavily criticized the plans.

Mega boom in the solar industry

Solar systems were already very popular last year. According to the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW), a quarter more solar systems were installed on German roofs than in the previous year, exactly 184,000, with an output of around 4.9 gigawatts. No other form of energy grew faster in power generation. However, pull-forward effects probably also contributed to this. In the spring there was still uncertainty about the continued existence of state subsidies, plus the temporarily reduced value added tax.

Almost every tenth kilowatt hour consumed this year comes from solar energy in this country. The Federal Association of Energy and Water Management (BDEW) is already demanding that new solar systems with an output of at least ten gigawatts (GW) be installed every year by 2030. “We need a solar boom,” said BDEW chairwoman Kerstin Andreae recently to “Handelsblatt”.

Again solar cells from Bitterfeld

The domestic production of solar modules is celebrating an unexpected comeback these days. Solar cells are being produced again in Germany, in what was once the “Solar Valley” near Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt. The Swiss company Meyer Burger recently opened a new plant here, which will be ramped up these days.

“At the historic Solar Valley solar location, we are setting a milestone on Europe’s path to more strategic independence in the key technology of photovoltaics,” said CEO Gunter Erfurt at the opening on May 18th. In the highly automated operation, up to 200,000 solar cells are expected to roll off the production line every day. In a first step, an annual capacity of 400 megawatts is planned. It should be five gigawatts by 2026.

Next door, the solar company Q-Cells, which belongs to the South Korean Hanwha Group, is expanding its location in Bitterfeld and intends to invest a good 140 million euros in the research and development of new, low-resource solar modules by 2023. Q-Cells was once one of the largest photovoltaic manufacturers in Europe, but was ousted by Chinese competition and had to file for bankruptcy in 2012 before the Koreans bought it.

The lucrative business with solar parks

In fact, the manufacture of solar panels plays a rather subordinate role in the rebirth of the industry. The most important players in the new boom are now operators and developers of solar parks, above all the Hamburg company Encavis, which has now been included in the MDAX share index. The electricity provider, formerly known as “Capital Stage AG”, acquires and operates solar power plants and (onshore) wind parks in Germany and other European countries – with success, as the latest outlook shows. The result this year is expected to increase more than twice as fast as in 2020. Sales are expected to grow to over 320 million euros, thanks to two newly connected solar parks in Spain with a maximum production capacity of 200 and 300 megawatts each. The regular income that such a business model generates has not escaped other entrepreneurs.

Is a new IPO imminent with BEE?

Five years ago, a dozen Encavis managers decided to start their own company. With financial help from the entrepreneurial family Wacker (Wacker Chemie) and the former publishing family Jahr, the wind and solar park operator Blue Elephant Energy (BEE) was created. The company controls systems with a combined output of 1.1 gigawatts. Projects of a similar size are being planned. BEE achieved an operating result (Ebitda) of more than 60 million euros last year with a turnover of over 80 million euros. Because of the unusually high margin and the industry’s growth prospects, there is even speculation that the Hamburg-based company will go public. The company could earn 150 million euros, insiders reported to the Reuters news agency. After that, the issue could be implemented this summer, if possible in July. The company does not comment on the speculation. But company boss Felix Goedhart is quoted by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” as saying: “Our operating profit margin of 74 percent with low risk should be interesting for investors.”

Solar power from Mecklenburg for VW

Climate protection and the goal of the EU Commission to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 are generating more and more alliances between a wide variety of companies. The Hamburg asset manager Luxcara has acquired a solar park in Mecklenburg and commissioned the energy giant RWE to market it. RWE will supply the car manufacturer Volkswagen with electricity from next year. The system has a total capacity of 170 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which makes it one of the largest solar projects in Germany

As reflected in the name of TIM-3, current research on it is mainly focused on T cells. TIM-3 is regarded as a marker molecule of T cell exhaustion in chronic viral infection and cancer models[2].

Although multiple drugs targeting TIM-3 have entered clinical trials[1], but The mechanism of blocking TIM-3’s anti-tumor activity is still a bit vague Because TIM-3 is also expressed on many other immune cells, do immune cells other than T cells participate in its anti-cancer effect, or even play a more important role?

On June 9, 2021, the Vijay K. Kuchroo team from Harvard Medical School published important research results in the journal Nature. They found Blocking TIM-3 on dendritic cells (DCs) may play a more critical role in enhancing anti-tumor immunity [3]!

Screenshot of the paper’s homepage

In order to understand the specific functional mechanism of TIM-3, the researchers used a large number of conditional knockout mouse models.They found that in After knocking out TIM-3 in CD4 and CD8+ T cells at the same time, tumor growth was inhibited to a certain extent, but not very significant ;and Specific knockout of TIM-3 in CD8+ T cells, regulatory T cells or NK cells does not affect tumor growth .

This result is a bit surprising, but the researchers quickly thought, would TIM-3 on myeloid cells have a more important function?

The researchers found through single-cell sequencing combined with flow cytometry that High expression of TIM-3 in DC1s and migDCs (migDCs) in tumors .in After specifically knocking out TIM-3 in DCs, tumor growth was significantly inhibited, and This effect is stronger than TIM-3 knocking out T cells .

Knock out TIM-3 in dendritic cells (gene name is Havcr2), the tumor is significantly suppressed

So, how does TIM-3 on DCs affect the anti-tumor immune response?

With the help of single-cell sequencing results, the researchers found that after knocking out TIM-3 in DCs, the number of CD8+ T cells infiltrated in the tumor increased. A more detailed analysis found that Early activation, effect, memory, memory precursor T cells increased , These T cells play a key role in the anti-tumor immune response[4].

Streaming analysis also confirmed that in After conditionally knocking out the TIM-3 of DCs, the memory precursor CD8+ T cells and effector T cells infiltrated in the tumor increased significantly .

After knocking out TIM-3 of DCs, memory precursor CD8+ T cells (TCF1) and effector T cells (CX3CR1, T-bet, Ki67) increased

One of the main functions of DCs is to promote the anti-tumor immune function of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells through antigen presentation[5].Further analyzing the myeloid cells in single-cell sequencing, the researchers found Some genes related to MHC class I antigen presentation are significantly elevated .

Mouse experiments also confirmed that after knocking out the TIM-3 of DCs, the proportion of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the tumor was significantly increased, and it had a stronger killing potential.Description Inhibition of TIM-3 can enhance antigen-specific immune response .

After knocking out the TIM-3 of DCs, the proportion of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells increases and has a stronger killing potential

After studying the mechanism at the cellular level, the researchers began to further explore more detailed molecular mechanisms.

The researchers first analyzed the interaction between CD8+ T cells and DCs based on single-cell sequencing technology. The results showed that after knocking out the TIM-3 of DCs, the ligand-receptor interaction scores of Il18–Il18r1 and Il18–Il18rap increased significantly.Analysis of cytokines in tumor homogenate also found Significantly increased levels of IL-1β and IL-18 .

Friends who are familiar with inflammasomes must be able to think that inflammasomes mediate the activation and release of IL-1β and IL-18. Does knocking out TIM-3 activate the inflammasomes?

Pattern diagram of inflammasome activation[6]

Sure enough, analyzing single-cell sequencing data, the researchers found that in the TIM-3 knockout DCs, inflammasome-related gene characteristics were significantly enriched.

Inflammasomes can be activated by pathogen-related molecular patterns (PAMP) and damage-related molecular patterns (DAMP)[7]Since the research here did not involve pathogens, researchers naturally wondered whether endogenous DAMP (such as reactive oxygen species, oxidized lipids, and oxidized DNA) activated the inflammasomes?

Researchers found that in TIM-3 knock-out DCs, the enrichment level of oxidative stress-related gene characteristics was significantly increased, and flow analysis also confirmed Increased ROS levels in DC1s and mDCs .Furthermore, the researchers treated mice with tumors with antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine) and found that The tumor suppressor effect brought by knocking out TIM-3 is completely eliminated, and the increase in IL-1β levels in the tumor is also completely eliminated .

After knocking out TIM-3, the level of ROS in DC1s and migDCs increased

So, is the activation of the inflammasome pathway the reason for the enhanced anti-tumor immune response?

Researchers used three ways to inhibit the inflammasome pathway (inhibition of caspase1, inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, inhibition of IL-1β/IL-18, friends can check the above schematic diagram), and found The anti-tumor effect enhanced by knocking out TIM-3 completely disappears, and the function-enhancing effect of CD8+ T cells is also eliminated .

Inhibition of the inflammasome pathway can eliminate the immune enhancement effect of blocking TIM-3

Overall, this study found that compared to T cells, TIM-3 on DCs may play a more critical role in tumor immunity , This discovery has a certain subversive significance to people’s previous cognition.

The author analyzes the mechanism from the perspectives of cell function changes in the tumor microenvironment and changes in molecular pathways in DCs, but this article still leaves many unanswered questions.

For example, how does knocking out TIM-3 lead to increased levels of oxidative stress in DCs? In addition, the experimental evidence of the relationship between oxidative stress and inflammasome activation in this article is still weak. In this model, is it possible that the inflammasome may be activated by other factors?

How does the activation of inflammasome affect the function of DCs and T cells? Is it possible that TIM-3 may affect the function of DCs through other mechanisms?For example, in the latest issue of Immunity, Brian Ruffell and others believe that Blocking TIM-3 contributes to the activation of the cGAS-STING pathway in DCs, thereby promoting the anti-tumor immune response [8].

Although TIM-3 still has a lot to be studied, it is worth looking forward to that many TIM-3 antibodies have entered clinical trials, including some domestic drugs. It is hoped that these drugs can be marketed as soon as possible and benefit more patients.

references

1. Siddiqui I, Schaeuble K, Chennupati V, et al. Intratumoral Tcf1(+)PD-1(+)CD8(+) T Cells with Stem-like Properties Promote Tumor Control in Response to Vaccination and Checkpoint Blockade Immunotherapy. Immunity. Jan 15 2019;50(1):195-211 e10. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2018.12.021

2. Roberts EW, Broz ML, Binnewies M, et al. Critical Role for CD103(+)/CD141(+) Dendritic Cells Bearing CCR7 for Tumor Antigen Trafficking and Priming of T Cell Immunity in Melanoma. Cancer Cell. Aug 8 2016; 30(2):324-336. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2016.06.003

3. Terlizzi M, Casolaro V, Pinto A, Sorrentino R. Inflammasome: cancer’s friend or foe? Pharmacol Ther. Jul 2014;143(1):24-33. doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2014.02.002

4. de Mingo Pulido A, Hanggi K, Celias DP, et al. The inhibitory receptor TIM-3 limits activation of the cGAS-STING pathway in intra-tumoral dendritic cells by suppressing extracellular DNA uptake. Immunity. Jun 8 2021;54( 6):1154-1167 e7. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2021.04.019

Can suck other people’s life force with tail One of Cell’s most fearsome powers is the ability to absorb anyone’s life force and chi, using his tail. The Imperfect and Semi-Perfect Cell forms both possess a long tail, similar in function to a mosquito’s proboscis. Through it, Cell can stab people’s bodies and drain them of their life force at high speed, rendering their bodies to nothing in an instant. This move helps Cell to store gas, and at the same time increases his gas limit, which means making him stronger. In the case of absorbing Android 17 and Android 18, Cell can extend the tail to swallow the target, since they cannot use the suction method because they are not human. Can regenerate at the cellular level Resilience is possibly one of Cell’s most useful attributes. Possessing Namekian DNA in him, Cell has the ability to regrow severed limbs when desired. Although the process is painful, it does away with any damage left on Cell during the battle. Thanks to his sheer strength, that healing factor was actually able to regenerate his body from a single cell, allowing him to come back to life even after he used the self-destruct attack. Along with his resilient Frieza DNA, his healing factor appears to be significantly stronger than that of the Namekians. Theoretically, this makes Cell nearly impossible to kill. However, if hit with a blow strong enough to literally destroy all of the cells, leaving nothing left behind at the molecular level, then Cell would definitely die. The Saiyan DNA helps to give the advantage of constantly increasing power As the most aggressive warrior race in the universe, the Saiyans have many ways to increase their strength. And so is Cell. Thanks to Goku and Vegeta’s DNA, Cell has the potential to increase dramatically after each battle. The most prominent is probably the ability to strengthen after each wound healing. Basically, this is an ability that is ingrained in the Saiyan way of life, making them always look for challenges and push the limits when they fail. Combined with the Namek’s healing ability, defeating him is extremely difficult because after each “killed”, he will gradually shorten the distance with the opponent. If Gohan’s full-powered Kamehameha wasn’t strong enough to destroy Cell on a molecular level, he would surely continue to get stronger. Frost Demon race survival ability Besides Saiyan and Namekian DNA, Cell also possesses Frieza’s DNA. This means that his survivability is as strong as or far beyond the Frost Demon race, allowing him to survive in space, overcome oxygen-deficient environmental conditions, and withstand the cold of outer space. Besides, Frieza’s intellectual property also gives Cell the potential to achieve Golden status, if he lives and trains himself long enough. Can make copies of yourself With the ability of the Namek clan, Cell can “breed” by “squirting” from the tail (instead of the mouth) thanks to asexual reproduction. These chicks are called Cell Junior, and look exactly like the baby version of the perfect Cell, but without a tail. This means that they are just inferior copies, not really “children” of Cell. When it was first created, Cell Junior was as strong as Vegeta and Trunks at the time. However, the ones that are still alive (after trying to regenerate) do not grow strong even after a decade, making them easily overpowered by Android 17 and become the guardians of Monster Island. .

The team at Kyoto University Japan has created inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPS) that can overcome the immune system’s failure to accept transplanted cells in cell treatments. The research team is headed by lecturer Akitsu Hotta at the iPS Research and Application Center of Kyoto University. The team said they used gene editing to replace proteins on cell surfaces, which can cause the immune system to reject transplanted cells. According to the researchers, through animal testing and other means, they have confirmed that the iPS cells they generate reduce the risk of transplant rejection. IPS cells can be used to create cells that can regenerate any type of tissue in the body. Their method is able to generate 7 types of iPS cells and is applicable to more than 95% of the Japanese population. Previously, researchers at Keio University – Japan submitted a proposal to the Government for a clinical trial using iPS stem cells to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. Each year, about 5,000 people are said to lose the ability to move their limbs due to spinal cord injuries, the disease currently has no effective treatment. IPS cells can be used to create replacement cells for any tissue in the body. The team’s goal is to transplant cells into the patient so that these cells develop into nerve cells that transmit signals from the brain to restore the ability of the patient to move arms and legs. Japanese researchers have also made significant strides in their efforts to seek treatment for Parkinson’s disease (fibrillation paralysis). According to the group of researchers, for the first time in the world they have successfully transplanted iPS stem cells into the patient’s brain. “We did the transplant for the first time. The patient is recovering well now ”. GS. Ryosuke Takahashi at Kyoto University said. They performed this groundbreaking surgery recently, which implanted 2.4 million iPS cells into the brain of a 50-year-old male patient. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent Parkinson’s disease from causing depleted neurons. business. The research team will follow the patient for about 2 years to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of this method. Not stopping there, the above research group has developed iPS into the precursor cells of the reproductive cells. These cells were then cultured for about 3 months, in the same box as the oocytes isolated from the pups. The team claims to have obtained spherical cells with large cell nuclei. After analyzing the shape and characteristics of these cells, the team concluded that these are oocytes, the precursors of oocytes. The team says the work will help develop techniques for making human eggs from induction pluripotent stem cells. They can explain the cause of infertility through research on egg formation. Stem cells can develop into every other type of cell in the body. Breakthroughs … The pioneer in this technology is the laboratory of GS. Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, Japan. In 2006, he published four genes with specially coded transcription factors that help transform from adult cells to multipotential stem cells. Together with Professor John Gurdon, he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Biomedical Sciences for “discoveries of adult cells that have the ability to be reprogrammed to become multi-potential stem cells”. Previous studies have concerned that reprogramming adult cells into iPS poses major risks, making the method limited in humans. For example, if a virus is used to alter the genotype in a cell, some oncogene expression genes are likely to be activated. However, scientists have announced the invention of a technology that helps to remove cancer-causing genes after multi-potential induction, making the application of iPS in the treatment of human diseases become more feasible. time is over. Currently, iPS cells are opening up a promising research direction in the treatment of genetic diseases in humans such as Down or polycystic kidney disease. In addition, iPS cells from impaired patients, which are not observed in iPS cells from healthy people, also provide additional physiological insights into these diseases. Nguyen Hung ( (Theo japantimes, nature) )

Curiously, the ancient emperor’s robes were forbidden to wash with water. Often times, clothes worn long without washing will have a bad smell and leave a feeling of uncleanness. Furthermore, dragon robes are the clothes the emperor wears every day, why ban washing? In the king’s palace, most of the costumes from kings to concubines used embroidery and weaving methods. The emperor’s camellia always used the finest silk, weaving the finest fabric. Legend has it that the clothes of the emperor and the queen are also used with real gold embroidery thread, dyed with a certain amount of gold to shine splendidly. Dragon plan is embroidered from the highest quality silk, embroidered only with real gold thread, extremely sophisticated. Photo: Sohu The minus point in this embroidery method lies in the type of silk as well as the type of thread embroidered with gold thread weaved so that the dragon is very special. Once touching the water, the silk thread and the golden thread will be washed away and completely lost their luster, no longer as bright and brilliant as before. Therefore, uncoated tunic will never be allowed to wash with water. Instead, they will use aromatherapy. This is the simplest way to deodorize the camellia. However, the emperor did not always like to wear aromatherapy. Therefore, when they see a “slightly old” dragonfly, they will… walk away directly. Usually, it takes about a year to complete a dragon plan. In the palace there are often more than 2,000 slaves who do nothing but weave dragonflies all year round for the emperor. So, The emperor’s number of dragonflies was so great that it would be worn off immediately, but not reused. Although it sounds quite wasteful, in reality, wearing a dragon dress is also a kind of ritual. When receiving kings or envoys from other countries, a king’s dragonfly also contributes to the cultural – economic – educational level of the entire country. Therefore, the investment in dragon cells is extremely worthy even though it is a very huge amount of money.

Xinzhiyuan Report

source:Academic headlines

【Xin Zhiyuan Guide】A new generation of Xenobots-They are assembled into the body automatically through single cells, and after assembly they can be moved without the aid of muscle cells, and even demonstrated the ability to store memories.

Last year, a team of biologists and computer scientists used frog cells to create a new type of miniature self-repairing biological robots called “Xenobots”-biological machines that can move around, push heavy objects, and even make Group behavior.

Today, the team has successfully developed a new generation of Xenobots on this basis-they are automatically assembled into a body through single cells, and can be moved without the aid of muscle cells after assembly, and even demonstrated the ability to store memories. The new generation of Xenobots robots move faster, can move in different environments, and have a longer service life. At the same time, they still have the ability to teamwork and can repair themselves after being damaged.

Researchers say that this versatility makes it possible for Xenobots robots to perform tasks in more environments. Relevant research results were titled “A cellular platform for the development of synthetic living machines” and were published in Science Robotics magazine on March 31.

(Source: Science Robotics)

Shuttle at will, just because of this special “leg”

It is understood that the researchers used artificially “modified” heart cells in the previous generation of Xenobots robots. Due to the natural rhythmic contraction of these cells, Xenobots robots have the ability to move around.

In contrast, the new generation of Xenobots robots adopts a “bottom-up” approach. The extracted frog stem cells self-assemble and grow into spheroids. The cells in some spheroids will differentiate to produce cilia-like tiny hairs after a few days. Protrusions, these protrusions can move back and forth or rotate in a specific way.

The corresponding author of the paper, director of Allen Discovery at Tufts University, and professor of biology, Michael Levin, said: “We are witnessing the plasticity of cell clusters. Although these frogs have completely normal genomes, we use their cells to construct A new’body’ completely different from the default state.”

At the same time, these cells can also reuse their genetic coding hardware to achieve new functions, such as using cilia to achieve movement. Even more surprising is that they can not only take on new roles spontaneously, but also create new physical behaviors without the need for long-term evolutionary selection of these characteristics. ”

Figure | Xenobots move through cilia and show teamwork ability

In order to test the ability of a single Xenobots to move in different environments, the researchers constructed different experimental environments from a completely open field to a restricted capillary with an inner diameter of 580nm. In all cases, except for some Xenobots that were challenged in narrow passages, Xenobots were able to move in space.

Under certain circumstances, Xenobots may move in the opposite direction. The reason is that the intracellular and tissue-wide polarity is established by cell rearrangement during the self-assembly stage created by Xenobots, and cannot be changed on a short time scale. Therefore, the rapid changes observed in the study may be due to real-time control of cilia, such as changes in the beating frequency of individual polyciliated cells, rather than changes in structural polarity.

Like many unicellular and multicellular organisms that use cilia for exercise, this exploratory behavior (spontaneous changes in exercise) may be affected by random internal physiological processes and micro-changes in the environment, such as spontaneous currents in an aqueous medium.

In the experiment, when the channel width of the “maze” is reduced to 2mm, Xenobots will continuously hover around a wall of the maze. According to observations, most Xenobots tend to exhibit an elliptical movement pattern. This behavior may be due to the wall inhibiting the completion of the elliptical path, which in turn drives the final directional movement.

Figure | Xenobots can pass through a variety of terrains including mazes

In addition, the researchers placed Xenobots on one end of a 2cm capillary with an inner diameter of 580nm. Unexpectedly, 42% of the tested Xenobots were able to pass through capillaries end to end. All individuals exhibiting movement successfully passed through the entire capillaries, and none of them stayed or reversed in the middle between the two ends. To movement.

Figure | Xenobots through tiny capillaries

The researchers said that these data are sufficient to show that Xenobots can successfully traverse various environments without having to go through a special configuration to adapt to a given scene, which is an ideal feature in many software robot applications.

Stronger collection and handling functions

At the same time, the researchers also modeled Xenobots of different shapes to determine whether they exhibit different behaviors when they are alone or in a “team”.

They hope that Xenobots can do some meaningful work in real life, such as life tools for removing microplastics in the ocean or pollutants in the soil. Facts have proved that the new generation of Xenobots is faster and better than the previous generation model in tasks such as garbage collection. They can clean the petri dishes in groups to collect larger iron oxide particles.

Figure | Xenobots work together to collect piles of tiny particles

In addition, Xenobots can also cover larger flat surfaces or move in narrow capillaries. These studies also show that in the future, computer simulation can optimize the additional functions of biological robots to adapt to more complex behaviors.

Also has a memory function? !

The core feature of robotics is that it can record information and use this information to modify the actions and behaviors of the robot. In order to confirm whether Xenobots have this function, the researchers designed a Xenobots with read and write functions, and they used EosFP’s fluorescent reporter protein to record this information. This protein usually emits green light, but when exposed to 390nm wavelength light, this protein can emit red light.

Researchers injected messenger RNA encoding the EosFP protein into the cells of frog embryos. Xenobots made from these stem cells have a built-in fluorescent switch that can record blue light exposure around 390nm.

To test the memory function of Xenobots, the researchers let 10 Xenobots move on a surface where a spot is illuminated by a 390nm beam. Two hours later, they discovered that three robots were emitting red lights, while the rest remained green, effectively recording the robot’s “travel experience.”

Figure | Xenobots can record information by changing the color

In the future, this proof of the principle of molecular memory can be extended to detect and record light, radioactive contamination, chemical pollutants, drugs, and diseases. The further design of the memory function can record multiple stimuli, allowing the robot to release compounds during the stimulus, or to change its behavior based on the sensation of the stimulus.

Bongard said: “When we give robots more functions, we can use computer simulations to design more complex behaviors and the ability to perform more complex tasks. We can not only report the conditions in their environment, but also modify and Repair the conditions in its environment.”

Even self-healing

What’s more surprising is that the new generation of Xenobots is also very good at “healing” their wounds, and can heal serious full length lacerations by half the thickness within 5 minutes of injury. In the experiment, all the injured robots eventually healed their wounds, restored their original shape, and continued to work as before.

Figure | Xenobots can repair itself

The researchers said that one of the advantages of biorobots is metabolism. Unlike metal and plastic robots, the cells in biorobots can absorb and break down chemicals and work like small factories such as synthesizing and expelling proteins. The entire field of synthetic biology previously focused on reprogramming single-celled organisms to produce useful molecules, and now it can be used in these multi-celled organisms.

Like the previous generation, the upgraded Xenobot robot can survive in the embryonic energy store for up to 10 days and run tasks without additional energy. However, if they are kept in a nutritious “soup”, they can also run at full speed for several months.

Before, Levin introduced a wonderful description of biological robots in a TED talk, and he also described what we can learn from these biological robots. He not only described the great potential of micro-biological robots to perform effective tasks in the environment or potential therapeutic applications, but also pointed out the most valuable benefits of this research, using robots to understand how individual cells gather, communicate, and specialize to create greater The organism. This is a new model system that can provide a basis for regenerative medicine.

The researchers said that Xenobots and subsequent alternative versions are also expected to provide information on how ancient single-celled organisms evolved into multicellular organisms, as well as the origin of information processing, decision-making, and cognition in biological organisms.

Reference materials:

https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/scientists-create-next-generation-living-robots

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.abf1571