by Mike Silver – Tufts Now –
When cells assemble into tiny biological robots called Anthrobots, they become biologically younger than their original adult cells.
Modern humans have existed for over 200,000 years, and each new generation has begun with a single cell—dividing, changing shape and function, organizing into tissues, organs, and limbs. With slight variations, the process has repeated billions of times with remarkable fidelity to the same body plan.
Researchers at Tufts have been on a quest to understand the code guiding individual cells to create the architecture of a human being, and to create a foundation for regenerative medicine. As they learn more about that code, they are also looking at how to build living structures from human cells that have totally new forms and capabilities—without genetic manipulation.
