The multicellular bots move around and help heal “wounds” created in cultured neurons. Scientists at Tufts and Harvard made tiny biological robots called Anthrobots using human tracheal cells. These tiny robots move and, in the lab, help neurons grow in damaged areas. The researchers hope to use similar biobots made from patients’ cells to heal and treat diseases.

These robots are as small as a human hair to the tip of a sharpened pencil. They self-assemble in the lab dish. Also, they don’t require tweezers or scalpels to give them shape.