- A noun ford by affixing “xeno-” to the beginning of “bot.” It’s interesting that the scientists decided to describe their technology with “xeno-”. The prefix does a good job conveying the idea that organisms are different from those created naturally or by humans. However, it also conveys a sense of hostile foreignness, and may alienate some people from using the technology.
xenobot
derivation Noun
Synthetic organisms designed by a computer, often without human guidance, to perform some desired task or function.
Etymology : Word formed by adding the prefix “xeno-” to the noun “bot”.
Source : “Levin and his colleagues began co-designing their xenobots with the help of the cells themselves, and some fancy algorithms.” (Wired Magazine, 01/13/20).
Last modified: 26 November 2020