anthrobot

English

Etymology

Blend of anthro- +‎ robot, or anthro- +‎ -bot.

Noun

anthrobot (plural anthrobots)

1. A machine designed to resemble a human being; an android.
2. A biobot made from human cells.

   Hypernym: biobot

   Coordinate term: xenobot

   • 2023 December 15, Will Sullivan, “Tiny ‘Robots’ Made From Human Cells Show Wound-Healing Potential. The so-called “anthrobots” can self-assemble and move on their own, and they prompted damaged neurons to regenerate in a recent study”, in Smithsonian Magazine‎^[1], retrieved 2024-01-20:

     Scientists have developed tiny groups of human cells that can move on their own—and in a lab experiment, these so-called “anthrobots” inspired sheets of human neurons to repair themselves when damaged. The researchers hope the collections of cells could one day be used to treat diseases or aid with healing in humans, according to a statement from Tufts University. […] The study comes on the heels of earlier work from one of its authors, who produced tiny robots by stitching together frog embryo cells. These bots, known as “xenobots,” could assemble themselves, move across surfaces and travel through liquid, according to Scientific American’s Philip Ball. […] Since they’re not made from human cells, xenobots can’t be used to treat humans, writes Nature News’ Matthew Hutson. But the anthrobots in the new study could, theoretically. Each anthrobot started with a single cell from an adult human lung. It then grew into a multicellular biobot after being cultured for two weeks.