Chinese scientists design octopus-inspired color-changing machine
SHANGHAI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A group of Chinese roboticists have designed a minuscule machine that can mimic octopuses whose cell pigments change color under chemical stress.
Fluorescence in response to chemical cues occurs throughout the natural world, such as in cephalopods that change color to evade predators.
Scientists from Shanghai Jiao Tong University worked to incorporate this type of chemically responsive fluorescence into a DNA nanomachine, according to a study published in the journal Science Robotics recently.
The DNA nanomachine they created fluoresces in response to changes of acidity inside the cell.
In in-vitro testing, the nanoscale device identified and quantified the absorption and emission, respectively, of materials through the cell membrane.
It can then autonomously change shape in response to pH variations, which, in turn, displays adaptive fluorescent colors, according to the study.
The new design offers insights on how to use robots to study living systems and their interactions, according to the study.
Photos
Related Stories
- Year-ender: China's sci-tech achievements in 2022
- World sci-tech development forum opens in China
- Chinese technicians win 7 medals at WorldSkills Competition in Austria
- China's pursuit of sci-tech goals to benefit world
- Yunnan dispatches sci-tech experts to South Asia, Southeast Asia, builds bridge of int'l technological cooperation
- China to work with int'l community to oppose protectionism, bullying practices in sci-tech
Copyright © 2022 People's Daily Online. All Rights Reserved.