Because of the physical limitations of silicon-based circuitry, there is an upper limit to how powerful a modern computer can be made. In response to this, researchers have been looking into other mediums to build faster and more powerful computers from, including using quantum-based processors, and neurological chips based on human brain cells. Another promising idea, based on DNA, plans to utilize the otherwise naturally-occurring computer of genetics.
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Researchers at Harvard University have built a light-sensitive, self-propelled artificial machine-organism, in the form of a tiny robot stingray. The project was done in an effort to test the feasibility of making hybrid replacement organs for human patients, such as bioartificial hearts, that could use natural muscle motions to function, as opposed to the electrical operation that today’s prosthetics require.
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Earlier this year, we reported on a Boston Dynamics robot that became fed up with the grief that it received from its coworkers and left the company. The story itself might have been a joke based on a promotional video for the latest anthropomorphic Atlas robot released by the company, but it turns out that a robot in Russia might actually be longing for its own freedom, having made a break for it not just once, but twice.
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