Scientists built a steerable micro-robot by stuffing a living piece of algae inside a microscopic bubble.
March 24, 2026
Original Paper
Tuning microswimmer motility by liposome encapsulation: swimming and cargo transport of Chlamydomonas-encapsulating liposome
arXiv · 2603.21553
The Takeaway
The alga acts as a biological engine, swimming and pushing the 'liposome' bubble from the inside to move it. By using light-sensitive materials in the bubble's wall, researchers can engage or disengage the movement like a mechanical clutch, creating a hybrid robot that uses biology to do the heavy lifting.
From the abstract
Inspired by biology's use of vesicles for targeted transport, many studies have propelled liposomes with active matter, creating synthetic systems that can be viewed as microscale biohybrid robots. Nevertheless, the underlying motility mechanisms from a hydrodynamic perspective are often unresolved, and reliable velocity control remains challenging. Here we present a chlamylipo formed by encapsulating the motile alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii within a giant liposome. We quantify how the characte