Scientists Say 'Living Robots' Can Now Reproduce

?科學(xué)家宣布“活的機(jī)器人”現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)能夠繁殖了

????????Scientists have announced that xenobots, the world's first "living robots," can now reproduce（繁殖）.

????????科學(xué)家宣布xenobot——世界上第一個“活的機(jī)器人”，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)能夠繁殖了。

????????Xenobots are made from the stem cells（干細(xì)胞） of the African clawed frog（非洲爪蛙） — or the Xenopus laevis（非洲爪蟾）, which is where they get their name.

????????Xenobot 由非洲爪蛙或者非洲爪蟾的干細(xì)胞制作的，這是xenobot這個名字的由來。

????????To create them, a team of scientists at the University of Vermont used a supercomputer to design a blueprint（藍(lán)圖）, which was assembled（裝配） by biologists at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

????????為了創(chuàng)造他們，佛蒙特大學(xué)的科學(xué)家團(tuán)隊使用超級電腦設(shè)計了一張藍(lán)圖，它被來自馬薩諸塞州的塔夫斯大學(xué)的生物學(xué)家組裝。

????????They separated stem cells from frog embryos（胚胎） into single cells, and left them to incubate（培養(yǎng)）.?Then, under a microscope, the cells were cut and joined to match the computer designs, creating an entirely new organism.

????????他們從青蛙胚胎的干細(xì)胞中分離出單細(xì)胞，培養(yǎng)它們。然后，在顯微鏡下它們被切割并連接起來以匹配計算機(jī)的設(shè)計，從而創(chuàng)造一個完整的、新的有機(jī)體。

????????Less than a millimeter wide and spherical（球形的） in shape, xenobots can be "programmed" to complete tasks similarly to robots.?They can move around by themselves, heal themselves if they get hurt, and have even shown evidence of keeping memory.

????????不到一毫米的球體——xenobot，它能被編程去像機(jī)器人那樣完成任務(wù)。它們能自己移動，如果它們受傷了，它們能自己修復(fù)，甚至已經(jīng)展現(xiàn)出能保存記憶的證據(jù)。

????????Now, working together with Harvard University, the researchers have discovered that these xenobots can reproduce in a way that has been seen in molecules, but never before in plants or animals.

????????在于哈佛大學(xué)的合作中，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)這些xenobot已經(jīng)能夠以分子的形式繁殖，這從未在植物或動物中出現(xiàn)過。

????????Within five days of being brought together, xenobots form spheres of about 3,000 cells.?While observing this, the team noticed that different clusters（集群） of cells appeared to work together by pushing loose cells together into new clusters, eventually forming new xenobots.

????????在它們聚在一起的五天里，xenobot形成了大約有3,000個細(xì)胞的球體。當(dāng)研究人員進(jìn)行觀察時，這個團(tuán)隊注意到不同的細(xì)胞群似乎通過把松散的細(xì)胞聚集在一起形成了新的集群。

????????These new xenobots were smaller than the originals, and in only one out of five trials were the "children" able to produce a further generation of their own.

????????這些新的集權(quán)比原來的要小，在五次實驗中只有一個“孩子”能夠生育出下一代。

????????To improve the effectiveness of the xenobots' reproduction, scientists used artificial intelligence to experiment with different body shapes.?They found that a shape resembling（像） Pac-Man was the best at gathering cells into new clusters.

?????? 為了提高xenobot的繁殖效率，科學(xué)家使用人工智能去實驗不同的身體形狀。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)像吃豆人的形狀是最容易聚集細(xì)胞形成新集群的形狀。

????????The new shape resulted in spherical "child" xenobots that were not only able to make more xenobots themselves — they were so large that a total of up to（總計達(dá)到……） four generations of children could be made.

????????這個新的形狀創(chuàng)造的球形子代不僅能制造更多的xenobot，而且它們的體積之大以至于能夠產(chǎn)生四個子代。

????????Xenobots do not yet have any practical application, but the researchers hope they could one day be used to fix electrical circuits（電路） or clean up microplastics in the oceans.

????????Xenobot尚且還沒有任何實際應(yīng)用，但是這些研究人員們希望它們某一天能夠被用來修復(fù)電路，或者用來清理海洋中的微型塑料。