Smell activates robot

By using genetically modified frog cells, you give a robot a sharper sense of smell - according to Shoji Takeuchi, a bioengineer at the University of Tokyo in Japan.

Existing E-Noses use quartz rods designed to vibrate at a different frequency when they bind to a target substance.Takeuchi and his team have developed a living smell sensor. Immature eggs, or oocytes, from the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis are genetically modified to express the proteins known to act as smell receptors. The team then placed the modified cells between electrodes and measured the telltale currents generated when different molecules bound to the receptors.

As a proof of concept, Takeuchi has built a robot that shakes its head when moth pheromones are sensed by the nose.

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19351-frog-cells-give-artificial-nose-the-power-of-super-smell.html