Xenobots are the world's first living robots that can now reproduce in a different way from plants and animals, US scientists said. 

Scientists that developed the robot said that they were able to discover an entirely new form of biological reproduction. 

"Frogs have a way of reproducing that they normally use but when you ... liberate (the cells) from the rest of the embryo and you give them a chance to figure out how to be in a new environment, not only do they figure out a new way to move, but they also figure out apparently a new way to reproduce."

What are Xenebots made of? 

The living robots are formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). Xenobots are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. 

"I was astounded by it," said Michael Levin, a professor of biology and director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University who was co-lead author of the new research.

How were Xenebots made? 

Stem cells are identified as unspecialized cells that can develop into different cell types. Xenebots were made when researchers scraped living stem cells from the frog embryos and let them incubate. 

"Most people think of robots as made of metals and ceramics but it's not so much what a robot is made from but what it does, which is act [sic] on its own on behalf of people," said Josh Bongard, a computer science professor and robotics expert at the University of Vermont and lead author of the study.

How do Xenebots develop? 

The question most people might be asking is if Xenebots are considered robots or organisms. 

"In that way, it's a robot but it's also clearly an organism made from genetically unmodified frog cells," added Bongard. 

He explained that the Xenobots were sphere-shaped and composed of up to 3000 cells that could replicate. They use what is known as "kinetic replication", which is a process that occurs on molecular levels. 

Using Artificial Intelligence, scientists and researchers were able to test different body shapes to ensure an effective body replication for the Xenobots. 

A small petri dish was able to hold tiny stem cells that gathered together, later developing into Xenobots. 

The effectivity of the process comes from a Pac-Man-shaped disk that was sculpted to be used for testing. 

"The AI didn't program these machines in the way we usually think about writing code. It shaped and sculpted and came up with this Pac-Man shape," Bongard said.

How can we benefit from Xenobots?

According to the study, the Xenobots could be used for a host of tasks. They could be used to clean up radioactive waste, collect microplastics in the oceans, carry medicine inside human bodies, or even travel into our arteries to scrape out plaque.

Also, the Xenobots can survive in aqueous environments without additional nutrients for days or weeks - making them suitable for internal drug delivery.

Aside from that, Xenobots could also help researchers educate themselves further about cell biology - opening the doors to future advancement in human health and longevity.

Could Xenobots be a threat? 

Some concerns could be sparked with the prospect of self-replicating biotechnology. However, researchers said that the living robots were properly contained in a lab and could easily be extinguished because they are biodegradable. 

"There are many things that are possible if we take advantage of this kind of plasticity and ability of cells to solve problems," Bongard said.