No robot can reproduce the way that algal cells, begonias, and people can. However, an automaton that’s little more than a stack of blocks has shown that it, too, can make more of its own kind.

Now, in a new study appearing online April 6 in Science Robotics, scientists have taught a robot the deceptively simple chore of dressing a mannequin. ... A diagram of how the breakthrough works.

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. Block diagrams close block diagramA diagram of a system represented by blocks connected by lines. are clear, simple ...