Collaborative Research: Cyberplasm - An autonomous micro-robot constructed using synthetic biology

科学影响本研究的目的是利用合成生物学原理构建微型机器人赛博质。这将通过结合蜂窝设备集成、先进微电子和仿生学来实现；一种模仿动物模型的方法；在后面的课程中，我们将模仿海洋动物七鳃鳗的一些行为。合成肌肉将产生波动运动来推动机器人在水中运动。从酵母细胞中提取的合成传感器将报告来自周围环境的信号。这些信号将被电子神经系统处理。反过来，电子大脑将产生信号来驱动肌肉细胞，这些肌肉细胞将使用葡萄糖作为能量。所有电子元件都将由集成在机器人体内的微生物燃料电池供电。这项研究旨在通过整合特定的基因部分，在细胞水平上利用合成生物学的力量。进入细菌、酵母和哺乳动物细胞来执行类似装置的功能。此外，这种方法将允许细胞/细菌被“简化”，从而可以解决设备集成的输入/输出（I/O）要求。特别是，我们计划使用视觉感受器通过光信号将电子与感觉和驱动结合起来。此外，合成生物学将在系统层面上进行，通过将多个细胞/细菌设备连接在一起，连接到一个电子大脑，实际上创造了一个多细胞生物混合微型机器人，我们将其命名为赛博质。运动功能将通过工程肌肉细胞来实现，使其具有兴奋/收缩耦合和收缩功能所需的最小细胞机制。肌肉将由线粒体将葡萄糖转化为ATP提供动力，ATP是生物细胞中的一种能量货币，因此将发电与驱动结合起来。更广泛的方面赛博质的发展将影响公众、私营部门和一般教育的想象力。机器人产业（就生物技术、医疗保健、农业和医疗保健而言）每年价值数十亿美元。混合生物/合成机器人将彻底改变这个行业的各个方面，使机器人的控制和功能达到一个全新的水平。本研究解决的基本问题之一是将细菌整合到燃料电池中，以及将酵母和哺乳动物细胞分别整合到传感器和执行器等工程设备中。此外，我们将通过开发这些工程细胞与电子设备通信的机制来解决I/O问题。所获得的知识（即在生物-电子界面）不仅有助于推动该领域的发展，为建立新的概念和发展奠定坚实的基础，而且可能对医疗保健等行业产生深远的、长期的工业影响，在这些行业中，生物传感器和药物输送系统可以通过利用这种细胞机器的传感能力和效率得到极大的改善。由于它的控制论？自然，该项目可以有效地用作培养非专业公众的热情和兴趣的工具，特别是用于向从小学到中学/高中的学生讲授一般科学和合成生物学。

Scientific ImpactThe aim of this research is to construct Cyberplasm, a micro-scale robot using principles of synthetic biology. This will be accomplished using a combination of cellular device integration, advanced microelectronics and biomimicry; an approach that mimics animal models; in the latter we will imitate some of the behavior of the marine animal the sea lamprey. Synthetic muscle will generate undulatory movements to propel the robot through the water. Synthetic sensors derived from yeast cells will be reporting signals from the immediate environment. These signals will be processed by an electronic nervous system. The electronic brain will, in turn, generate signals to drive the muscle cells that will use glucose for energy. All electronic components will be powered by a microbial fuel cell integrated into the robot body. This research aims to harness the power of synthetic biology at the cellular level by integrating specific gene ?parts? into bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells to carry out device like functions. Moreover this approach will allow the cells/bacteria to be "simplified" so that the input/output (I/O) requirements of device integration can be addressed. In particular we plan to use visual receptors to couple electronics to both sensation and actuation through light signals. In addition synthetic biology will be carried out at the systems level by interfacing multiple cellular /bacterial devices together, connecting to an electronic brain and in effect creating a multi-cellular biohybrid micro-robot, we named Cyberplasm. Motile function will be achieved by engineering muscle cells to have the minimal cellular machinery required for excitation/contraction coupling and contractile function. The muscle will be powered by mitochondrial conversion of glucose to ATP, an energetic currency in biological cells, hence combining power generation with actuation.Broader AspectsThe development of Cyberplasm will impact the imagination of the general public, the private sector, and education in general. The robotics industry (in terms of biotech, healthcare, agriculture and healthcare) is worth billions of dollars annually. A hybrid bio/synthetic robot would completely revolutionize aspects of this industry allowing robots to operate with a whole new level of control and functionality. Amongst the fundamental issues that this research addresses is the integration of bacteria into fuel cells, as well as yeast and mammalian cells into engineered devices such as sensors and actuators, respectively. Moreover, we will address the I/O problem by developing mechanisms for these engineered cells to communicate with electronics. The knowledge to be gained (namely at the biology-electronics interface) will not only contribute to advance the field as such by laying a solid ground upon which novel concepts and developments can be built, but could have a far-reaching, longer term industrial impact in industries such as those healthcare, where biosensors and drug delivery systems could be vastly improved by harnessing the sensing capabilities and efficiency of such cellular machines. Owing to its ?cybernetic? nature, the project can be effectively used as a vehicle to foster the enthusiasm and interest of lay public and, specifically, for the teaching of science in general and synthetic biology to students, ranging from primary to secondary/high schools.