Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued an advanced research concepts opportunity earlier this month (DARPA-EA-25–02-02) for the Hybridizing Biology and Robotics through Integration for Deployable Systems (HyBRIDS) program.
Bio-hybrid robotics
Bio-hybrid robotics combines living organisms and synthetic materials to create biorobots that compared to traditional robots can offer adaptability, self-healing, and energy efficiency.
Building a robot takes boatloads of technical skills, a whole lot of time, the right materials, of course – and maybe a little bit of organic life, maybe? Decades of science fiction have shaped our ideas of robots being non-biological entities. Think of batteries as the hearts, metal as the bones, and gears, pistons, and
Current procedures for manual extraction of mature muscle tissue in micromechanical structures are time consuming and can damage the living components. To overcome these limitations, we have devised a new system for assembling muscle-powered microdevices based on judicious manipulations of materials phases and interfaces. In this system, individual cells grow and self-assemble into muscle bundles that are integrated with micromechanical structures and can be controllably released to enable free movement. Having realized such an assembly with cardiomyocytes we demonstrate two potential applications: a force transducer able to characterize in situ the mechanical properties of muscle and a self-assembled hybrid (biotic/abiotic) microdevice that moves as a consequence of collective cooperative contraction of muscle bundles. Because the fabrication of silicon microdevices is independent of the subsequent assembly of muscle cells, this system is highly versatile and may lead to the integration of cells and tissues with a variety of other microstructures.
A swarm of spherical rovers, blown by the wind like tumbleweeds, could enable large-scale and low-cost exploration of the Martian surface, according to results presented at the Joint Meeting of the Europlanet Science Congress and the Division for Planetary Sciences (EPSC-DPS) 2025.
Recent experiments in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel and field tests in a quarry demonstrate that the rovers could be set in motion and navigate over various terrains in conditions analogous to those found on Mars.
Tumbleweed rovers are lightweight, 5-meter-diameter spherical robots designed to harness the power of Martian winds for mobility. Swarms of the rovers could spread across the red planet, autonomously gathering environmental data and providing an unprecedented, simultaneous view of atmospheric and surface processes from different locations on Mars. A final, stationary phase would involve collapsing the rovers into permanent measurement stations dotted around the surface of Mars, providing long-term scientific measurements and potential infrastructure for future missions.
Research on the association between carbohydrate intake and psoriasis risk is limited. We aimed to examine the associations of carbohydrate and its different subtypes with psoriasis risk, as well as the interaction between genetic predisposition and carbohydrate intake.
We performed a prospective cohort study based on UK Biobank that included 210,474 participants who did not have psoriasis at baseline. A 24-hour dietary assessment tool was used to assess detailed dietary intake information. Incident psoriasis events were identified through hospitalization records. The association between carbohydrate intake and psoriasis was examined by Cox proportional hazard regression models. Multiplicative interaction between genetic risk and carbohydrate intake was assessed by incorporating a cross-product term in the model.
A total of 1907 incident psoriasis events were recorded during the follow-up period (median: 13.25 years). Compared to the lowest intake quartile (Q1), the highest intake quartile (Q4) of total sugars
The CRISPR gene editing system holds tremendous promise. It has already revolutionized biomedical research by making gene editing a straightforward process. It involves using a guide RNA molecule that has a unique sequence, which matches with a target location in genomic DNA. This guide RNA brings an enzyme called Cas9 to that genetic location, where Cas9 makes a cut in the DNA. Scientists have been modifying and improving on the CRISPR technique since it was created. Many of those improvements are related to the Cas9 enzyme, and ensuring that it makes the proper cut in the correct place.