Scientists in the United States have created tiny biological robots, called 'Anthrobots', from human tracheal cells. These microscopic multicellular bots, varying in size from the width of a human hair to the point of a sharpened pencil, were designed to self-assemble and have displayed a remarkable healing effect on other cells.

The research, published in Advanced Science, describes how the Anthrobots move across surfaces and have been found to promote the growth of neurons in damaged areas of lab-grown neurons.

"Anthrobots are the first fully cellular living biological robots made up of human cells," Gizem Gumuskaya from Tufts University told Reuters.

"It's all living biological cells with an inherent ability to act as a machine."

The study builds on earlier research involving Xenobots, created from frog embryo cells, and explores the potential of using patient-derived biobots as therapeutic tools for regeneration and disease treatment.

Unlike Xenobots, Anthrobots can be constructed from adult human cells without genetic modification, offering a scalable and promising approach to producing swarms of these bots for therapeutic applications.

Anthrobots navigate using cilia, tiny hairs on their surface mimicking mucosal skin cells from the trachea. These cilia, originally clearing airways in the body, now serve as a propulsion system for Anthrobots, allowing them to move on their own.

The research, led by Professor Michael Levin at Tufts University, with collaboration from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, discovered that Anthrobots, made from adult human tracheal cells, can move autonomously and encourage neuron growth without modifying their DNA. The unexpected capabilities of these Anthrobots open avenues for further exploration into their healing mechanisms.

Gumuskaya said the Anthrobots helped heal “wounds” created in cultured neurons.

"We showed that Anthrobots can move through a sheet of damaged human nerve cells and repair the nerves in the course of three days," she said.

Exactly how the Anthrobots encourage growth of neurons is not yet clear, but the researchers confirmed that neurons grew under the area covered by a cluster of Anthrobots.

The advantages of using human cells include minimizing the risk of immune responses, as the bots can be constructed from a patient's own cells.

Anthrobots have a limited lifespan of a few weeks, ensuring they can be easily reabsorbed into the body after completing their tasks.

The researchers envision various applications for Anthrobots, including clearing plaque buildup in atherosclerosis patients, repairing spinal cord or retinal nerve damage, recognising bacteria or cancer cells, and delivering targeted drugs.

"In the future, we may be able to take a person's own cells and use precisely designed stimuli to get them to adopt desired shapes and behaviours. We could reinsert them back into the body to have them perform therapeutic tasks," said Professor Michael Levin.

(Production: Matt Stock)