Scientist on the road to creating 'living metal'?
Dec 17, 2011 13:42:09 GMT -5
Post by shann0 on Dec 17, 2011 13:42:09 GMT -5
www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientist-on-the-road-to-creating-living-metal-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/story-fn5fsgyc-1226221843753
Scientist on the road to creating 'living metal'? What could possibly go wrong?
Read more: www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientist-on-the-road-to-creating-living-metal-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/story-fn5fsgyc-1226221843753#ixzz1gopWJZGL
IT's one of the most asked for items on every would-be supervillain's wishlist - when am I getting my T1000 army?
British researcher Lee Cronin may have the answer.
Working at the University of Glasgow, he claims he has created lifelike cells which are based on metal.
What's more, he claims they may be "replicating and evolving".
New Scientist is reporting that Prof Cronin builds his "high-functioning cells" from ions taken from metal atoms such as tungsten.
He adds them to a specialised saline solution, where they gather in bubbly spheres.
Prof Cronin calls the structures iCHELLS - inorganic chemical cells.
So when it comes to inorganic cells, what does "lifelike" actually mean?
Prof Cronin can modify the outer shell of the bubbles to allow certain chemicals in and out. Some of them can be built to allow them to photosynthesise.
But his best trick is his claim that he can create some of the cells in a way that they use each other as templates to - wait for it - self-replicate.
"I think we have just shown the first droplets that can evolve," Prof Cronin told New Scientist.
"I am 100 percent positive that we can get evolution to work outside organic biology."
Read more about how Prof Cronin is giving life to metal cells at New Scientist
Read more: www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientist-on-the-road-to-creating-living-metal-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/story-fn5fsgyc-1226221843753#ixzz1gopOpZoU
Scientist on the road to creating 'living metal'? What could possibly go wrong?
Read more: www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientist-on-the-road-to-creating-living-metal-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/story-fn5fsgyc-1226221843753#ixzz1gopWJZGL
IT's one of the most asked for items on every would-be supervillain's wishlist - when am I getting my T1000 army?
British researcher Lee Cronin may have the answer.
Working at the University of Glasgow, he claims he has created lifelike cells which are based on metal.
What's more, he claims they may be "replicating and evolving".
New Scientist is reporting that Prof Cronin builds his "high-functioning cells" from ions taken from metal atoms such as tungsten.
He adds them to a specialised saline solution, where they gather in bubbly spheres.
Prof Cronin calls the structures iCHELLS - inorganic chemical cells.
So when it comes to inorganic cells, what does "lifelike" actually mean?
Prof Cronin can modify the outer shell of the bubbles to allow certain chemicals in and out. Some of them can be built to allow them to photosynthesise.
But his best trick is his claim that he can create some of the cells in a way that they use each other as templates to - wait for it - self-replicate.
"I think we have just shown the first droplets that can evolve," Prof Cronin told New Scientist.
"I am 100 percent positive that we can get evolution to work outside organic biology."
Read more about how Prof Cronin is giving life to metal cells at New Scientist
Read more: www.news.com.au/technology/sci-tech/scientist-on-the-road-to-creating-living-metal-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/story-fn5fsgyc-1226221843753#ixzz1gopOpZoU