Scientists Create World's First 'Molecular Robot' Capable of Building Molecules (scienmag.com)

New submitter re385 shares a report from Science Magazine: Scientists at The University of Manchester have created the world's first "molecular robot" that is capable of performing basic tasks including building other molecules. The tiny robots, which are a millionth of a millimeter in size, can be programmed to move and build molecular cargo, using a tiny robotic arm. Each individual robot is capable of manipulating a single molecule and is made up of just 150 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms. To put that size into context, a billion billion of these robots piled on top of each other would still only be the same size as a single grain of salt. The robots operate by carrying out chemical reactions in special solutions which can then be controlled and programmed by scientists to perform the basic tasks. In the future such robots could be used for medical purposes, advanced manufacturing processes and even building molecular factories and assembly lines. The research will be published in Nature on Thursday 21st September. "All matter is made up of atoms and these are the basic building blocks that form molecules," explains Professor David Leigh, who led the research at University's School of Chemistry. "Our robot is literally a molecular robot constructed of atoms just like you can build a very simple robot out of Lego bricks. The robot then responds to a series of simple commands that are programmed with chemical inputs by a scientist. It is similar to the way robots are used on a car assembly line. Those robots pick up a panel and position it so that it can be riveted in the correct way to build the bodywork of a car. So, just like the robot in the factory, our molecular version can be programmed to position and rivet components in different ways to build different products, just on a much smaller scale at a molecular level."

Comments

So, can they build themselves?

[msevior]

If so we will finally have self-replicating robots and all that they entail...

Re:So, can they build themselves?

[wierd_w]

May not need to.

Given the size of the robots in question, and the means by which they are programmed/operated, it would make sense to create artificial gene sequences to use the cellular machinery inside a living cell already to manufacture, and control these molecular robots, as they would be very useful chaperons to enzymes and other proteins. (both are "huge" by comparison, if the statement given in the article is accurate.)

Since they are controlled via submersion in different chemical solutions, the insides of a complex (by this I mean, having real organelles) single celled organism sounds like the ideal place to use and operate these, since the organisms already create vacuoles containing various solutions for a variety of purposes.

Adding them to a cell's toolkit in this way would be a radical advancement in what can be done in petri dishes or glassware. Arbitrary modifications of existing in-vivo protein and enzyme interactions would open a lot of doors.

Re:star trek

[michelcolman]

Actually, this reminds me more of the video game "SpaceChem". It's almost as if these researchers went "hey, here's a crazy idea, let's make one of those waldos for real".

(If you don't know the game, it's really worth checking out, one of the best puzzle games ever invented and I don't say that lightly).