Future

Our molecular robots can help capture a large number of live locusts without victims. Not only we can use them as the new source of energy, for research such as the monitoring of locust group behavior patterns and development of a new locust pesticide. This will be of great help to researchers for further understanding and prevention of outbreaks. Furthermore, our solution could lead to further breakthroughs in the development of new power generation methods using locusts , achieving both SDGs goal 3, 7, 13 and 15.

ELSI(Ethical,Legal and Social Isuues)

Could this robot be used for military purposes?

In our robot, 4VA, a pheromone produced by locusts[1], is used as a trigger to release the poison. Therefore, it does not react to anything other than locusts and cannot be used for military purposes.

Doesn't the poison have a negative impact on the people?

Rutin, the poison used in our molecular robotics, is a secondary metabolite produced by plants to protect them against insects[2].It acts specifically on locusts and is quickly decayed, so it has almost no adverse effect on the people.

Isn't spreading the robots around harmful to the environment?

The DNA and lipid bilayers that constitute the molecular robots are easily disintegrated naturally, so the damage to the environment is considered to be minimal.

Reference

[1]Guo, X., Yu, Q., Chen, D. et al. 4-Vinylanisole is an aggregation pheromone in locusts., Nature 584, 584-588 (2020)

[2]Wang, Y., Huang, X., Chang, B.H. et al. The survival, growth, and detoxifying enzyme activities of grasshoppers Oedaleus asiaticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) exposed to toxic rutin. Appl Entomol Zool 55, 385–393 (2020).

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