Researchers create the world's first living, programmable robots

After spending decades steeped in science fiction, I wouldn't immediately associate the words "living" and "robot," and I doubt a lot of you would either. We can't say the same about researchers at the University of Vermont and Tufts University, though -- they announced this week that they have successfully developed tiny living "machines" of sorts. To paraphrase researcher Joshua Bongard, these aren't traditional robots or a known species of animal -- these are something else entirely. These are living, programmable organisms.