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Researchers Engineer Light-Activated Skeletal Muscle

Posted by samzenpus on from the flick-of-a-switch dept.

submeta writes "Researchers at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania have genetically engineered skeletal muscle cells to respond to light. The hope is that this 'bio-integrated' approach may lead to 'highly articulated, flexible robots.' The technique, known as optogenetics, has previously been used to stimulate neurons in worms to fire."

1 of 20 comments (clear)

  1. Cruelty to Animals? by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1, Troll

    We will probably make these robots work harder than we work natural animals.We will probably work some until they break, until the animal tissue dies, because we can "just replace it".

    How much of the robot has to be animal before working it that hard is cruelty to the animal? How much robot until it's not an animal with a prosthetic, but flips to a robot with tissue?

    Or are all hybrids subject to the compassion we have for animals?

    What about when it's human tissue?

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