Definition
Xenobot
A xenobot is a synthetic biological machine created from the skin and heart cells of the ]Xenopus Laevis, from which they get their name. They were created by Michael Levin’s lab to prove that DNA does not rigidly determine form.
Scale-Free Cognition
They are prime example of Michael Levin’s work on scale-free cognition and agential material because Xenobots demonstrate that cells possess an inherent plasticity and goal-directedness that exists independent of their typical role in a specific organism (like being part of a frog’s skin).