Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have created a polymer gel that mimics euglena mutabilis, a single-cell organism that uses energy to change its shape autonomously in order to move. The bio-inspired gel signals that synthetic creations can also move the way living things do, despite not having muscles to expand and contract.
This could lead to a material that could eventually turn choppy C-3P0 movement into Cylon humanoid grace (hopefully without the “destroy all humans” directive).
Euglena “provided inspiration for our work due to their elegant motion,” said Dr. Anna Balazs, who coauthored the study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports last week.
via Gizmodo
