[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say

Sun Dec 5 15:28:28 PST 2021

Ok, Dick and Bob,

I am so glad you are members and listening to my curiosity and questions!
Thank you so much for your responses. I really would like to learn more
about it all!
Hope Dick could give a talk soon and Bob could give a talk next year when
you are done with all your current engagements.

Wow, Dick: You actually worked with Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog),
studied, knowledgeable in this topic with hands-on research experience!!
That's exciting. I am sure many members would like to hear it.

I include others and the group in this email as John/Peter/Steve/Bob are
the committee members who determine the meeting topics and schedules, and
the group could raise their hands.

Thanks so much
Evie

On Sat, Dec 4, 2021 at 3:34 PM Dick <r.w.wagner at verizon.net> wrote:

> Interesting discussion!
>
> I totally understand your frustration😁! I read a summary of the PNAS
> article (I think in the Boston Globe) regarding this concept; with some
> skepticism, I must admit. I have since skimmed the PNAS paper (thanks for
> the link, Evie!) with a deeper understanding of the authors' thinking. My
> skepticism remains, both because I'm a skeptic, at heart, and because of
> the implications set forth without verification in the paper. I must add
> that I am totally in favor of pursuing the line of investigation set forth
> in the paper, however!!
>
> There are a tremendous number of terms used in the paper and in the
> summary article that are unfamiliar to the general, educated audience which
> naturally lead to confusion and frustration. This is normal, I think, as
> our knowledge increases, although it could probably be less intimidating
> perhaps. We are in the midst of a general blending of what used to be
> separate ('silos' of) physical science disciplines, including computer
> science more recently, with the consequence of term usage that used be well
> understood but is now becoming blurred. I have been in favor of such
> "cross-discipline" approaches since my grad school days even though it is
> accompanied by angst by practitioners of these base disciplines.😉
>
> I would be willing to discuss and answer specific questions you may have,
> if you wish, about the topics raised by both of you in your discussion. I
> have a decent background, both by experience and by reading (studying),
> about these topics. My first post-doc dealt with what has become called
> "prions", and in my fourth post-doc I worked with Xenopus laevis (African
> clawed frog) as my experimental animal as I was investigating embryonic
> development of the nervous system.
>
> As to the forum of any further discussion: I was hesitant about replying
> to your posting as a reply to the general LCTG group because I do not know
> the general interest in these topics by the group and did not want to bore
> people with further discussion that has no interest to them. If there is a
> broader interest in this or these topics, I propose that there be a
> session, perhaps during a potpourri, where questions and general discussion
> about a more general, or specific, topic be pursued. (Perhaps similar to
> research group discussions about a recent research paper that we had in
> grad school). If such a forum is not feasible, I would be happy to further
> discuss and answer your questions by direct email between us.
>
> Take care and be well!
>
> Dick
> On 12/3/2021 6:16 PM, Evie wrote:
>
> Very interesting! Bob,
>
> It's very interesting because it could be used in many applications
> (medical, and even environmental, etc.).
> How did the scientists actually do it in the lab?.....The process from the
> stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) to xenobots, which
> are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) wide.
> We all know how AI is installed in computer robots, but how "bio
> artificial intelligence" is installed in frog's stem cells?🤔
> The article explained "The supercomputer came up with a C-shape that
> resembled Pac-Man, the 1980s video game." and "The shape is, in essence,
> the program. The shape influences how the xenobots behave to amplify this
> incredibly surprising process." 🤔🤔🤔 And I am totally lost reading the Research
> Article, Kinematic self-replication in reconfigurable organisms,
> https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2112672118!🙄🙄🙄
>
> Are prion proteins functioning similar to stem cells? Dick Wagner's talk
> on the CRISPR page has terms I am not familiar with.
>
> Do I ask too many questions? Maybe you could talk about this in one of the
> meetings as you have a biochemistry background.👍
> Evie
>
> On Thu, Dec 2, 2021 at 1:26 AM Robert Primak <bobprimak at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> I saw that. I chafe at calling this a "life form", but they have to bait
>> those clicks somehow.
>>
>> I refer you to Dick Wagner's talk on CRISPR, wherein he chafes at calling
>> a bacterial phage a virus. Viri are only endemic to eukariotic cells (with
>> a true nucleus and certain chromosome characteristics).
>>
>> Similarly, viri have been called life forms by some (not all) scientists,
>> though they do not fulfill all the criteria of a complete life form. Then
>> there are prion proteins, which are self-replicating but lack other
>> characteristics even viri possess. (Mad Cow Disease is caused by a
>> prion, as is Chronic Wasting Disease in wild deer. And Scrapies in sheep.)
>>
>> https://virologyj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-422X-8-493#:~:text=Animal%20prion%20diseases%20include%20scrapie,and%20spongiform%20encephalopathy%20of%20primates.
>>
>> (I minored in biochemistry in college, and did a tiny bit of grad school
>> before dropping out.)
>>
>> So now we have synthetic "life" forms. The lines blur even further.
>>
>> The machines are taking over, and we will be serving them before long.
>>
>> -- Bob Primak
>>
>>
>> On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 08:07:10 PM EST, Evie <et8686 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Very interesting......
>>
>> World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say
>>
>> https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/americas/xenobots-self-replicating-robots-scn/index.html
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