{"id":41648,"date":"2024-09-06T13:34:41","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T11:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/0d26e7d2-6017-4ccc-9e03-7d0fcf2b2c14"},"modified":"2024-09-06T14:27:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T12:27:32","slug":"fungus-learns-to-control-robot-spider-heres-what-it-means-for-our-future","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/fungus-learns-to-control-robot-spider-heres-what-it-means-for-our-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Fungus learns to control robot spider. Here’s what it means for our future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The biohybrid robot can survive extreme conditions, including radiation, say scientists. <\/p>

By Daniel Graham\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 06 September 2024 at 11:34 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Scientists from Cornell University in New York have built two new robots;\u00a0one is a soft spider-like robot and the other a wheeled robot. Both are controlled by a fungus.<\/strong><\/p>

The machines are what’s known as biohybrid robots \u2013 robots made from a combination of living systems, such as cells and tissues. Scientists have been making biohybrid robots from plant and animal cells for a while now, but they are complicated, expensive and sensitive things, with limited lifespans. <\/p>

In contrast, fungi can be easily cultured and are robust in extreme conditions, say the inventors of the two new robots. <\/p>

By harnessing fungal mycelia’s innate electrical signals, the researchers discovered a new way of controlling these robots that can potentially react to their environment better than their synthetic counterparts. Their findings, published in the journal\u00a0Science Robotics<\/a><\/em>, may shape the robots of the future.<\/p>

The team used mycelia from king oyster mushrooms to control the robots\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>