Turkish Scientist Creates Living Robots Using Human DNA, Igniting a Scientific Breakthrough

KEY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Innovative Fusion: Architect and synthetic biology master’s graduate Gizem Gümüşkaya merges her expertise to create “Anthrobots” — living robots from human DNA.
  • Academic Recognition: Gümüşkaya’s scientific work on Anthrobots is approved by an international scientific committee and published in Advanced Science, a prestigious journal.
  • Patent Approval: Gümüşkaya’s patent application for Anthrobots is accepted, marking a significant achievement in the field of synthetic biology and medical innovation.
  • Self-Building Architecture: Anthrobots are the world’s first synthetic robots that can self-build from a single human cell, utilizing a novel approach to morphogenetic code manipulation.
  • Human DNA Foundation: Despite being a new architecture, Anthrobots consist of 100% human DNA, allowing for personalized production using a patient’s own cells and programmability for diverse therapeutic applications.
  • Medical Breakthrough: Anthrobots demonstrate the capability to repair damaged nerve tissues in laboratory experiments within three days, paving the way for future therapeutic applications in medicine.
Turkish Scientist Creates Living Robots Using Human DNA
Turkish Scientist Creates Living Robots Using Human DNA (Image Credit: Hurriyet Daily News/Fatma Aksu)

After finishing her studies in Architecture, Gizem Gümüşkaya went on to learn more in the United States. There, she completed two master’s degrees—one in architecture and another in synthetic biology. This unique combination of knowledge sparked her interest in bringing together these two different fields.

Originally, Gümüşkaya studied architecture. However, during her master’s studies, she found herself intrigued by synthetic biology. Seeing the potential connections between architecture and biology, she decided to explore how these two areas could work together to advance science.

“Anthrobot” – A Living Robot from Human DNA

Gümüşkaya’s creative approach led to an impressive project called “Anthrobot.” This special living robot is made using human DNA and is designed to help repair damaged tissues in the field of medicine. Anthrobot represents a pioneering effort to tackle complex medical challenges by combining principles from architecture and synthetic biology.

Her hard work paid off when an international scientific committee, which reviews work anonymously, approved her project. Just last week, the details of Gümüşkaya’s research and Anthrobot were published in the respected scientific journal Advanced Science. This journal is known for sharing the latest and most groundbreaking discoveries in the scientific world.

Gümüşkaya, whose patent application got approved, shared her success journey and future plans in medicine with Hürriyet newspaper. She explained,  “Since I come from the field of design, I wanted to produce new tissues and new structures that did not exist before in the field of synthetic biology.”

“It took me eight years to realize the idea of creating self-building architectures by playing with the morphogenetic code of cells. ‘Anthrobots’ are the world’s first synthetic robots that can build themselves from a single human cell,” she said.

“This is a brand new architecture, but its DNA is 100 percent human DNA. It can be produced from each patient’s own cells. The benefit of being a synthetic architecture is that it can be programmed in different ways for different diseases in the future,” Gümüşkaya added.

“In our experiments, we proved that a damaged nerve tissue can be repaired by these robots within three days,” she stressed.

Gümüşkaya emphasized that the next step is conducting tests in the lab to eventually use these robots for medical treatments in the future.

Read Original Article on Hurriyet Daily News

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