Microcapsules manufactured using chemo-mechanical oscillations can mimic protocell behavior
Simple cells were the basis for the complexity of life. From protocells, to organisms growing into complex structures, the individual cells aggregated and formed basic clumps. To evolve into multicellular organisms simple mechanisms were needed to produce chemical messages that encouraged the cells to move and form colonies.
Soft robotics, for example, cannot progress without replicating this behavior. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering’s Chemical Engineering Department have achieved this feat with their latest biomimicry advancement.
Matter published the research \”Lifelike Behavior of Chemically Oscillating Mobile Capsules.\” Oleg E.Shklyaev is the lead author. He is a post-doctoral fellow with Anna Balazs. She holds the John A. Swanson chair of engineering and is a Distinguished Professor in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-chemo-mechanical-oscillations-mimic-protocell-behavior.html
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