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

Mon Dec 6 07:04:31 PST 2021

 This might tie in with our thread where Steve Isenberg poses this question:
Gentlepeople,Do you know of any place where you can buy one of those really powerful systems (like, Intel i7, good graphics, HD display, 500GB SSD, 16GB memory) and save money by buying the machine without an operating system (like Windows)?I'm thinking of trying to install a Linux release on the machine and try it for video editing.  Every place I look bundles the machine with Microsoft Windows.Thanks,-steve
Maybe attach your comment to that email chain as well? 
-- Bob Primak 

    On Sunday, December 5, 2021, 11:50:09 PM EST, George Gamota <ggamota at stma-llc.com> wrote:  

I actually would not mind having a session on what’s inside a computer. Kind of here are various parts you need to buy, what do they do, and how they fit. There probably is a YOUTUBE available.

I thought of putting a computer together but never got to the point of doing it, although I had a chassis that collected dust.

George

From: LCTG <lctg-bounces+ggamota=stma-llc.com at lists.toku.us> On Behalf Of Robert Primak
Sent: Sunday, December 5, 2021 7:47 PM
To: Dick <r.w.wagner at verizon.net>; Evie et8686 at gmail.com Cc: Steve Isenberg <smisenberg at gmail.com>; Lex Computer Group <lctg at lists.toku.us>
Subject: Re: [Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say

In light of the direction this discussion has taken, and especially given that Dick Wagner seems to have relevant information, I have a question:

Do we, especially the Group of Four, think it's worth adding this to our potential presentation topics for 2022?

I think any presentation about this would be months away, but there may be further developments to report by then.

I would suggest that Dick has the best background to cover this topic. And I also would suggest that the presentation not be too in-depth on the biology and biochemistry -- just what people with little or no background might need/want to know. The big question is, how many members of our Group at large might be interested in this topic?

Best way to find out is -- ASK the PEOPLE!! 

-- Bob Primak 

On Sunday, December 5, 2021, 06:28:42 PM EST, Evie <et8686 at gmail.com> wrote: 

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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===============================================::The Lexington Computer and Technology Group Mailing List::Reply goes to sender only; Reply All to send to list.Send to the list: LCTG at lists.toku.us      Message archives: http://lists.toku.us/private.cgi/lctg-toku.usTo subscribe: email lctg-subscribe at toku.us  To unsubscribe: email lctg-unsubscribe at toku.usFuture and Past meeting information: http://LCTG.toku.usList information: http://lists.toku.us/listinfo.cgi/lctg-toku.usThis message was sent to r.w.wagner at verizon.net.Set your list options: http://lists.toku.us/options.cgi/lctg-toku.us/r.w.wagner@verizon.net

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