Scientists have been able to create “zombie” cells by coating live mammalian cells with a silica solution.
Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico announced their zombie-cell research success last year.
After coating the nanoscopic organelles of the cell in the solution, the researchers burn the cell. What is left is the hardened silica. It is in the shape of the now-dead cell and it can survive harsher conditions while performing some functions better than the flesh cells.
Scientists use nature’s ideal structure, then program the silica cells for a variety of purposes. Nanomachinery meets pop-culture horror in these zombie cells.
