Tiny hybrid robots made using stem cells from frog embryos could one day be used to swim around human bodies to specific areas requiring medicine, or to gather microplastic in the oceans.“These are novel living machines,” said Joshua Bongard, a computer scientist and robotics expert at the University of Vermont, who co-developed the millimetre-wide bots, known as xenobots.“They’re neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. It’s a new class of artefact: a living, programmable organism
A major challenge of spaceflight is the weight of fuel, which dramatically increases costs. The LightSail 2 satellite, launched in June, may have proved how to lighten the load. It’s currently flying free using only light as fuel. When photons from sunlight hit its silvery sail, they impart a small force that increases velocity without the need for an engine or thruster. On July 31, LightSail successfully accelerated enough to raise its orbit by 1.25 miles
