Slashdot Mirror


Tokyo Scientists Create Mobile Slime

Sockatume writes "Shingo Maeda and colleagues at Waseda University have created a polymer gel that walks under its own chemical power. The team exploited the oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction to create periodic changes in the size of the polymer, and built a tensed structure that would amplify those small movements into a horrifically potent gait. The current version only walks across a notched surface, but the team are working on a terrible new form that will cross smooth surfaces like a snail. The team say they intend to apply it in the self-assembly of small structures. Suddenly, I can't stop screaming."

1 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Ob: overlords by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I for one welcome our new slimy polymer overlords.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.