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The mini robots that may show how to ‘programme’ cells for improved performance
Scientists still have much to learn about how life materialised on earth, but the concept of emergence – complex systems developing from smaller, simpler parts – goes a long way towards demystifying it. To help better understand emergence, researchers at Harvard are programming small, simple ‘kilobots’ to simulate emergent patterns found in nature. Beyond revealing more about how order and intelligence can emerge from chaos, it’s possible that the kilobots could reveal shortcomings and inefficiencies in our own biology that we might someday be able to reprogramme.
Producer: Josh Cassidy
Website: Deep Look
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Animals and humans
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Computing and artificial intelligence
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Biology
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Biology
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Evolution
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Ecology and environmental sciences
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