# bots: xenobot (from Xenopus laevis), the first living, programmable organism

<< A remarkable combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and biology has produced the world’s first "living robots".  (..) The term "xeno" comes from the frog cells (Xenopus laevis) used to make them. >>

<< One of the researchers described the creation as "neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal", but a "new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism". >>

<< Xenobots are less than 1mm long and made of 500-1000 living cells. They have various simple shapes, including some with squat "legs". They can propel themselves in linear or circular directions, join together to act collectively, and move small objects. Using their own cellular energy, they can live up to 10 days. >>

Simon Coghlan, Kobi Leins. Not bot, not beast: scientists create first ever living, programmable organism. University of Melbourne. Jan 19, 2020.

https://theconversation.com/not-bot-not-beast-scientists-create-first-ever-living-programmable-organism-129980

Sam Kriegman, Douglas Blackiston, et al. A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. PNAS. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910837117.  Jan 13, 2020

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/01/07/1910837117

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