Review
Engineering, Marine
Boai Sun, Weikun Li, Zhangyuan Wang, Yunpeng Zhu, Qu He, Xinyan Guan, Guangmin Dai, Dehan Yuan, Ang Li, Weicheng Cui, Dixia Fan
Summary: Compared to traditional underwater vehicles, bio-inspired fish robots have advantages such as high efficiency, maneuverability, low noise, and minimal fluid disturbance. This review highlights advancements in bio-inspired propulsion and sensing underwater, categorizes different bio-inspired robot fish based on their propulsion method, and discusses pioneering directions in soft robotic control and multi-phase robotics.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hee-Sup Shin, Zachary Ott, Leopold G. Beuken, Badri N. Ranganathan, J. Sean Humbert, Sarah Bergbreiter
Summary: This study introduces and demonstrates large-area soft sensing skins designed to sense disturbances on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in flight, providing a fast and robust control method for a wide variety of robotic systems.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Jonny Lee, Paco Calvo
Summary: Plants can serve as a valuable source of bioinspiration for soft robotics, and a holistic approach that draws on the features of plant intelligence and behavior is important. The enactivist perspective, which emphasizes embodiment and autonomy, is particularly relevant in designing plant-inspired robots and exploring non-zoological forms of intelligence.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROROBOTICS
(2022)
Correction
Robotics
Xiong Yang, Rong Tan, Haojian Lu, Yajing Shen
Summary: Correction to the declaration of equal contribution in the above mentioned paper.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Loy McGuire, Tristan Schuler, Michael Otte, Donald Sofge
Summary: We present a novel distributed robotic swarm algorithm inspired by the open channel siphon phenomenon in certain viscoelastic fluids. The algorithm mitigates the trapping effects of local minima in potential fields by propagating gradient information through local communication in the robot swarm. Experimental results show that the algorithm reduces the susceptibility of the robot swarm to local minima.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Sicong Liu, Yuming Zhu, Zicong Zhang, Zhonggui Fang, Jiyong Tan, Jing Peng, Chaoyang Song, H. Harry Asada, Zheng Wang
Summary: This article introduces a wearable soft supernumerary robot inspired by the fore flippers of otariids, featuring innovative design and manufacturing techniques to achieve high payload capability, flexibility, and lightweight advantages.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Dongting Li, Emiliano Quinones Yumbla, Alyssa Olivas, Thomas Sugar, Heni Ben Amor, Hyunglae Lee, Wenlong Zhang, Daniel M. Aukes
Summary: This article introduces a wearable exo-shell device inspired by the human spine to improve the gait of elderly people during obstacle avoidance tasks. The device is designed with origami-inspired techniques and features a chain of lockable joints with a braking system. The article describes the kinematics and forces of the device, discusses the integration of various sensors, and characterizes the performance of the device.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Gina Olson, Julie A. Adams, Yigit Menguc
Summary: Current soft robotic arms commonly follow traditional design conventions, which limit the design space. This article analyzes fluid-driven soft arm architectures inspired by cephalopods, investigating the performance implications of a morphology closer to nature. The study finds that many-actuator soft arms achieve high strokes and quasi-omnidirectionality, as well as execute near constant-curvature turns.
BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Qianying Chen, Fan Feng, Pengyu Lv, Huiling Duan
Summary: The study introduces origami springs with nonlinear stretch-twist coupling and linear/nonlinear mechanical response, which are analyzed through experiments and numerical simulations. Improving mechanical performance, such as damage resistance, can be achieved by adding additional creases to the spring system for origami rigidization. By utilizing origami-aided design, three types of flexible robots, including origami spring ejectors, crawlers, and transformers, are experimentally realized with desired functionality and outstanding mechanical performance.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Marcos Maroto-Gomez, Maria Malfaz, Alvaro Castro-Gonzalez, Sara Carrasco-Martinez, Miguel angel Salichs
Summary: Biological rhythms are adaptive responses to environmental changes in living organisms, with circadian rhythms being the most studied. Robots can exhibit adaptive behavior by emulating biological rhythms.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Federico Barravecchia, Mirco Bartolomei, Luca Mastrogiacomo, Fiorenzo Franceschini
Summary: The advent of collaborative robotics has enabled humans and robots to closely collaborate in manufacturing activities, leveraging their unique strengths and capabilities. The partnership between humans and robots, often described as symbiotic, encompasses a wide range of interactions, some beneficial and others detrimental. This study aims to understand the principles of Human-Robot Symbiosis and proposes a new approach for evaluating assembly tasks based on the characteristics of symbiotic relationships.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Matthias Kerzel, Philipp Allgeuer, Erik Strahl, Nicolas Frick, Jan-Gerrit Habekost, Manfred Eppe, Stefan Wermter
Summary: Researchers propose a novel semi-humanoid robot NICOL that can efficiently collaborate with humans in social interaction and physical tasks. They introduce the design concept of NICOL and evaluate its manipulation abilities using a new end-to-end hybrid neuro-genetic visuomotor learning approach, which outperforms existing inverse kinematics solvers.
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Renata Neuland, Fernanda Rodrigues, Diego Pittol, Luc Jaulin, Renan Maffei, Mariana Kolberg, Edson Prestes
Summary: Place recognition is crucial in many robotics applications, helping improve localization and map estimation. The proposed approach, inspired by interval analysis theory, models the known world as intervals based on robot observations and uses temporal constraints to select the best match for the current robot location. Evaluation on visual place recognition using image information demonstrates its effectiveness.
JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT & ROBOTIC SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Luca Cecchini, Stefano Mariani, Marilena Ronzan, Alessio Mondini, Nicola M. Pugno, Barbara Mazzolai
Summary: By studying the hierarchical structures and anatomical features of Geraniaceae seeds, researchers have successfully designed a bioinspired soft robot using biodegradable and hygroscopic polymers. This robot can move and adapt like natural seeds, reaching high torque and lifting capabilities.
Article
Robotics
Yunha Park, Joohyeon Kang, Youngjin Na
Summary: Inflatable origami structures have great potential in robotics due to their ability to achieve fast, customizable, large deformations, and three-dimensional shape morphing. In this study, we developed a new modular origami block that allows for reconfigurable shape transformations. With a paper-based block design and foldable pneumatic passages, each block can be manually inflated using a single pressure input. The results showed promising mechanical properties and the potential for multifunctional applications.
IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Johanna Maarit Koivisto, Nina Rodtness Poulsen, Benedikte Stoklund Larsen, M. G. M. Weibull, Amelie Stein, Fabio Doro, Jakob Rahr Winther, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Martin Willemoes
Summary: A genetic selection system for HIV protease activity was developed using a synthetic substrate. The growth of cells was found to be correlated with the cleavage efficiency of specific sites in the viral polyprotein Gag. This system provides a method for studying the activity of HIV protease.
BIOCHEMICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Magnus Haraldson Hoie, Matteo Cagiada, Anders Haagen Beck Frederiksen, Amelie Stein, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
Summary: Understanding and predicting the functional consequences of single amino acid changes is crucial in protein science. This study collects and analyzes experimental measurements of variant effects, and uses biophysical calculations and sequence analyses to predict the effects. The results show that sequence analyses provide more accurate predictions, and about half of the loss of function variants are due to stability effects. A machine learning model is constructed to predict variant effects from protein structure and sequence alignments, revealing insights into the mechanisms of functional loss.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Caroline Kampmeyer, Sven Larsen-Ledet, Morten Rose Wagnkilde, Mathias Michelsen, Henriette K. M. Iversen, Sofie V. Nielsen, Soren Lindemose, Alberto Caregnato, Tommer Ravid, Amelie Stein, Kaare Teilum, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen
Summary: This study reveals that disease-linked missense variants destabilize protein structure and depend on molecular chaperones for degradation, providing insights into protein degradation mechanisms.
Article
Biophysics
Johanna Katarina Sofie Tiemann, Henrike Zschach, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Amelie Stein
Summary: Next-generation sequencing of human genomes has identified millions of missense variants, some of which may contribute to the development of diseases by causing loss of protein function. In this study, we focused on missense variants in membrane proteins, which play crucial roles in cell signaling and recognition. Our findings suggest that loss of stability is a driving factor in the pathogenicity of membrane protein variants, highlighting the importance of understanding the underlying molecular processes.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Amanda B. Abildgaard, Vasileios Voutsinos, Soren D. Petersen, Fia B. Larsen, Caroline Kampmeyer, Kristoffer E. Johansson, Amelie Stein, Tommer Ravid, Claes Andreasson, Michael K. Jensen, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen
Summary: Protein quality control (PQC) degrons are short protein segments that target misfolded proteins for proteasomal degradation, and chaperone-binding regions may function as PQC degrons. A canonical Hsp70-binding motif, the APPY peptide, functions as a dose-dependent PQC degron in yeast and human cells. The number of exposed Hsp70-binding sites in the yeast proteome correlates with reduced protein abundance and half-life.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Audrone Valanciute, Lasse Nygaard, Henrike Zschach, Michael Maglegaard Jepsen, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Amelie Stein
Summary: Calculating changes in protein stability (AAG) is important for predicting the consequences of amino acid substitutions in protein engineering and interpreting genomic variants for disease risk. This study investigates the accuracy of AAG values predicted on homology models compared to crystal structures, and finds that they are equally accurate as long as the sequence identity of the model template to the target protein is at least 40%. The results show that stability calculations performed on homology models can substitute for those on crystal structures with acceptable accuracy.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fia B. Larsen, Matteo Cagiada, Jonas Dideriksen, Amelie Stein, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen
Summary: Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an important enzyme involved in the metabolism of neurotransmitters and catecholamine drugs, and its variation can affect pharmacokinetics and drug availability.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher J. P. Mathy, Tanja Kortemme
Summary: Allosteric regulation is the action where perturbations outside the active site of a protein affect its function. While studies on the structural mechanisms of allosteric regulation have been extensive, the translational applicability to entire cellular processes and their crosstalk has been lacking, despite the acknowledged importance of allostery in cellular regulation. In this article, an evolutionary model for the widespread occurrence of allosteric regulation in colocalized proteins is revisited, supporting evidence is presented, and emerging advances in mapping allostery in cellular networks are discussed.
CURRENT OPINION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sven Larsen-Ledet, Amelie Stein
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Simon Kretschmer, Nicholas Perry, Yang Zhang, Tanja Kortemme
Summary: Protein-based switches that respond to different inputs are crucial in synthetic biology. Multi-input switches that integrate multiple signals for regulating a shared output are of particular interest. The nuclear hormone receptor (NHR) superfamily provides a promising platform for engineering multi-input-controlled responses to approved drugs. By exchanging the ligand binding domain (LBD) of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) with other human NHR-derived LBDs, novel (multi)drug regulation can be achieved. This high-level control validates NHRs as a versatile platform for programming multidrug-controlled responses.
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Lasse M. Blaabjerg, Maher M. Kassem, Lydia L. Good, Nicolas Jonsson, Matteo Cagiada, Kristoffer E. Johansson, Wouter Boomsma, Amelie Stein, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
Summary: This study presents a method called RaSP, which utilizes deep learning representations to predict protein stability changes accurately and rapidly. The method performs well in saturation mutagenesis stability predictions and has been applied to large-scale stability analysis of the human proteome, revealing important insights into the role of protein stability in genetic diseases.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher J. P. Mathy, Parul Mishra, Julia M. Flynn, Tina Perica, David Mavor, Daniel N. A. Bolon, Tanja Kortemme
Summary: The study reveals that the regulation of GTPase proteins occurs not only at specific positions but also distributed throughout the structure. The discovery of new regulatory sites provides a functional map for exploring and targeting GTPases controlling essential biological processes.
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anum Glasgow, Helen T. Hobbs, Zion R. Perry, Malcolm L. Wells, Susan Marqusee, Tanja Kortemme
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matteo Cagiada, Sandro Bottaro, Soren Lindemose, Signe M. Schenstrom, Amelie Stein, Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
Summary: The authors propose a machine-learning based method to predict functional sites in proteins by combining sequence and structural information. Proteins play important roles in biology, biotechnology, and pharmacology, and missense variants can cause disease. Discovering functional sites in proteins is challenging due to the lack of comprehensive data sets.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sarah Gersing, Matteo Cagiada, Marinella Gebbia, Anette P. Gjesing, Atina G. Cote, Gireesh Seesankar, Roujia Li, Daniel Tabet, Jochen Weile, Amelie Stein, Anna L. Gloyn, Torben Hansen, Frederick P. Roth, Kresten Lindorff-Larsen, Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen
Summary: This study developed a multiplexed yeast complementation assay to measure the activity of GCK variants, capturing 97% of all possible missense and nonsense variants. The results showed that the activity scores correlated with in vitro catalytic efficiency, fasting glucose levels in carriers of GCK variants, and evolutionary conservation. This comprehensive assessment of GCK variant activity is important for variant interpretation and diagnosis, as well as for developing therapeutics targeting GCK.