Video: Scientists create walking goo, Steve McQueen put on alert

Who needs servos and a degree in robotics? The real threat to humanity is brewing in the distillation columns of chemists at Waseda University in Tokyo where researchers have developed a chemical gel that walks like an inchworm. Really, just check the video after the break. The color-changing, motile gel reacts to chemicals in its environment to create its own oscillating locomotion without the need for electrical stimulation. The idea is to augment the electronics in future robotics with these "self organized" chemical systems to avoid additional circuitry complexity and external controls. Our advice? Run.

[ACER Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:25AM]

Could someone tell me please who first suggested the idea of reproduction without sex?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 8:52AM]

Nature, long long long before anything resembling humans walked the Earth.

It's called asexual reproduction and in nature has several ways to accomplish this (hermaphrodites who knock themselves up, cell division in single cell lifeforms, outright cloning in some simpler multicellular life forms and some plants (break off a twig, plant it and it grows it's own roots and becomes an individual plant. some plants do this on purpose with help of hmmm English faltering: shoots? (long twig growing away from the plant along the ground, setting root and disconnecting from parent plant.)

So no one invented it/thought of it, we discovered things in nature doing it, like electricity and nanobots (retroviruses, viruses already were nanobots long before we dreamed of building our own proteine based micro machines. Nature usually gets to most things first ;) )

Felt like answering despite being almost sure you were being ironic.

Cheers!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 9:08AM]

"Your wife."

Aaah, Matthew Broderick....

[Mike10010100 Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:28AM]

W.....T.....F?

I mean seriously, WTF?

[Shinigami Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:11AM]

Nice BMW Z4! Didn't understand the University AD after it though...

[Kizorblade Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:31AM]

"without the need for electrical stimulation... unlike the scientists' wives"

Tsk tsk. What did they do to you? :O

[Freakin Ijit Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:46AM]

No scientists are women.

[Asimo Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:38AM]

I recently learned the IT term "blob" comes from that movie, and is not an acronym (the "backronym" was made up later)

[Jill Sandwich Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:44AM]

Realdolls + robotics + oscillating motile gel + ????? = Profit!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 11:57AM]

Actually, i was thinking more along the lines of the "musculature" seen in the irobot remake.

[tophat Posted Apr 28th 2009 6:46AM]

How ever will we outrun something going at 600 micrometres/second?

[neglewis Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:42AM]

600 micrometers/second... I wander if it could swim or fly...
a flying Blob just devastated NYC...

[tophat Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:44AM]

"Able to leap strands of hair in a single bound!"

[Ryan Trevisol Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:17AM]

I wonder if all scientific research like this should halt and efforts be devoted to optics that can capture the work being done in these fields. Think of how much more effective projects like this could've been if they could actually see in focus what they were working on.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 10:26AM]

Scientific journalism rarely gets it right, don't base your decisions on reports in popular media.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:37AM]

I heard this stuff was powered by hatred and bad vibes.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 8:50AM]

and/or "Walking on Sunshine"

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 29th 2009 2:02PM]

That's true, but it really likes Jackie Wilson

[SirNoDroin Posted Apr 28th 2009 2:04PM]

came for the ghost busters reference....ty

[SewerShark Posted Apr 28th 2009 7:40AM]

"The night of the walking Boogers"

[bullshitexpresscom Posted Apr 28th 2009 8:46AM]

Hmmm, the tendons and ligaments for Terminators?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 8:49AM]

Attack of the killer Cheetos.

[mabhatter Posted Apr 28th 2009 8:53AM]

I'ts a good thing we have "grey goo" to save us!

[forcegoat Posted Apr 28th 2009 10:22AM]

Interesting possibility for powering electrical turbines in the future. Sorry, nothing snarky here...move along.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 10:23AM]

Man that's some scary shit!

[maty Posted Apr 28th 2009 10:27AM]

I'll take two when you size them up to pet size!


Does it come in black?

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 11:22AM]

racist

[maty Posted Apr 28th 2009 10:27AM]

I'd say thats more fo a possibility than DNF ever being released!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 28th 2009 11:06AM]

File this under holyshitthatscool.

[stridermt2k Posted Apr 28th 2009 1:08PM]

Someone inform Downingtown, Pa.!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 30th 2009 12:52PM]

Reminds me of starch in water. Only this is doing it outside of a petri dish.

[APV Posted Apr 28th 2009 2:39PM]

This can only lead to one thing...

http://media.movieweb.com/img/d/Q/O/PHMmcMMULv2dQO_m.jpg

They will kill your family...