Living robots can reproduce on their own in a dish. This is not a science-fiction movie, but the result of a new research. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US on Nov 29.
活體機(jī)器人可以在培養(yǎng)皿中自我繁殖。這不是科幻電影，而是一項(xiàng)新研究結(jié)果，該結(jié)果發(fā)表在11月29日《美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)院院刊》上。

Xenobots, a type of tiny robot, were first created in 2020, using cells taken from the embryo of an African frog species. Under the right lab conditions, the cells formed small structures that could self-assemble, move in groups and react to their environment. Now, the researchers have found that xenobots can also self-replicate, according to the journal of New Scientist.
2020年，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)用非洲爪蟾胚胎中的細(xì)胞，首次創(chuàng)造了一種微型機(jī)器人——“異種機(jī)器人”。在合適的實(shí)驗(yàn)室條件下，其細(xì)胞會(huì)形成小型結(jié)構(gòu)，并能夠自我組合，成群活動(dòng)，并對(duì)環(huán)境做出反應(yīng)。據(jù)《新科學(xué)家》雜志報(bào)道，現(xiàn)在研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，異種機(jī)器人也可以自我復(fù)制。

Xenobots straddle an unusual line. Are they living organisms or robots? They are organisms because they are made of stem cells and can reproduce. But they are also robots because they can move on their own and perform physical labor, co-author Sam Kriegman told The Washington Post.
異種機(jī)器人跨越了一條不同尋常的界線。它們是活生生的有機(jī)體，還是機(jī)器人？異種機(jī)器人是有機(jī)體，因?yàn)闄C(jī)器人由干細(xì)胞組成，可以繁殖。但聯(lián)合研究人員山姆·克雷格曼在接受《華盛頓郵報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示，異種機(jī)器人也是機(jī)器人，因?yàn)樗鼈兛梢宰孕幸苿?dòng)，并從事體力勞動(dòng)。

“People have thought for quite a long time that we’ve worked out all the ways that life can reproduce or replicate. But this is something that’s never been observed before,” co-author Douglas Blackiston, a senior scientist at Tufts University in the US, told Science Daily website.
來(lái)自美國(guó)塔夫茨大學(xué)的聯(lián)合研究人員、資深科學(xué)家道格拉斯?布萊克斯頓在接受《科學(xué)日?qǐng)?bào)》網(wǎng)站采訪時(shí)表示：“很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間以來(lái)，人類一直認(rèn)為我們已經(jīng)找到了繁殖生命或者復(fù)制生命的所有方式。但異種機(jī)器人是以前從未注意過(guò)的?！?/span>

The ability to replicate adds a new layer of potential utility to the robots. Kriegman told The Washington Post that while xenobots are not yet commercially useful, they have the potential to provide a number of services, from cleaning up microplastics in the ocean to safely delivering drugs to a specific spot in a person’s body.
機(jī)器人擁有復(fù)制能力，這為其增加了一層潛在的功用。克雷格曼在接受《華盛頓郵報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示，雖然異種機(jī)器人還沒(méi)用作商業(yè)用途，但其擁有提供一系列服務(wù)的潛力，從清理海洋中的微塑料，到將藥物安全運(yùn)送到人體內(nèi)的特定位置。

However, the creation of xenobots comes with concerns. Some think more advanced future xenobots, especially ones that live longer and reproduce, could out-compete other species, according to The Conversation, an Australia news media.
然而，異種機(jī)器人的誕生也引發(fā)了一些擔(dān)憂。據(jù)澳大利亞新聞媒體The Conversation報(bào)道，一些人認(rèn)為未來(lái)更先進(jìn)的異種機(jī)器人，特別是那些壽命更長(zhǎng)、繁殖能力更強(qiáng)的機(jī)器人，可能會(huì)在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中勝過(guò)其他物種。

The researchers think these risks are manageable. “If you change the amount of sodium in that water to be too high or too low, they’ll die,” Kriegman told The Washington Post. “If there’s a piece of copper in the dish, they’ll all die. It’s an extremely controllable and stoppable and safe system.”
研究人員認(rèn)為這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是可控的?！叭绻惆阉械拟c含量調(diào)得過(guò)高或過(guò)低，異種機(jī)器人就會(huì)死亡?！笨死赘衤诮邮堋度A盛頓郵報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示，“如果培養(yǎng)皿里放上一塊銅，異種機(jī)器人就會(huì)全部死掉。這是一個(gè)非常可控、可停止的、安全的系統(tǒng)?！?/span>

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》，詳情請(qǐng)見(jiàn)《21世紀(jì)學(xué)生英文報(bào)高中版》高三766期