{"id":10114,"date":"2025-04-23T08:58:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T07:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/?p=10114"},"modified":"2025-04-28T11:10:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T10:10:35","slug":"science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Science or science fiction? Research that reads like something out of a book"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8_HbL4uDDTY?si=Q_HxUKQtiaV5kML9\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Long before the first robot hoover existed, the laws that would shape its relationship with humans had already been imagined. Almost a century before Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite in history, <\/span><b>someone had dreamt it up in the pages of a book<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. Even cloning and the \u2018de-extinction\u2019 of species were conceived in the mind of a writer before science labs. Throughout history, science fiction has fuelled the imagination of researchers on countless occasions, driving advances that have come to change the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">The laws of robotics in Isaac Asimov&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">I, Robot <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">(1950), space flight in Jules Verne&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">From the Earth to the Moon <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">(1865) and genetic engineering in H.G. Wells&#8217; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">The Island of Doctor Moreau <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">(1896) are just three examples of how, sometimes, <\/span><b>reading the future is the first step towards creating it.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">On the occasion of World Book Day, we explore how some of the most disruptive developments supported by CaixaResearch are turning ideas that previously only existed in science fiction into fact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><em><b>Mimicking nature to improve health<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Living on a desert planet may seem impossible for a being composed of 70% water. But by observing the behaviour of native species and with the help of technology, the protagonists of Frank Herbert&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Dune <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">saga end up designing a system of cities, suits and devices that allow them to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make<\/span> <b>the most of the scarce humidity present in the environment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. The fusion of biology and technology reflects the principle of <\/span><b>biomimicry<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">: learning from nature to resolve complex challenges. This approach continues to inspire a large number of innovations in health, such as new treatments for cancer and neurological regeneration, of which you can read more details in <a href=\"https:\/\/mediahub.fundacionlacaixa.org\/en\/research-health\/health\/scientific-research\/2025-04-22\/biomimicry-imitating-nature-improve-health-6973.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article from the &#8220;la Caixa&#8221; Foundation\u2019s MediaHub<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">In the search for new ways to deliver cancer treatments to brain tumour cells, a team of researchers at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gate2brain.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Gate2Brain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">spin-off <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irsjd.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Hospital Sant Joan de D\u00e9u<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irbbarcelona.org\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">IRB Barcelona <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">and the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.ub.edu\/es\/web\/actualitat\/w\/nace-la-compania-gate2brain-basada-en-una-tecnologia-para-transportar-farmacos-al-cerebro-?referer=noticias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">University of Barcelona<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, found the inspiration in a book. Led by Dr. <\/span><b>Meritxell Teixid\u00f3<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, who received support from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irbbarcelona.org\/en\/news\/ambulances-for-the-brain-supported-by-the-recercaixa-programme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">RecerCaixa<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/en\/caixaresearch-validate-call-2019-project-dipg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">CaixaImpulse Validate <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/en\/caixaresearch-consolidate-call-2021-project-child-brain-cancer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">CaixaImpulse Consolidate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, the researchers create shuttle peptides (small proteins) that act as molecular shuttles capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and take drugs directly to the brain parenchyma. The idea of crossing this barrier to cure a body had already been dreamt up by Isaac Asimov in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">The Fantastic Voyage<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\"> (1966), when a team of miniaturised scientists were placed inside a body to repair a blood clot in the brain. Written before scientists knew such a biological barrier even existed, the book, with astonishing precision, anticipated a goal that is finally being achieved today thanks to the research carried out by Gate2Brain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Another case is that of the zebrafish, a creature that\u2019s able to regain its mobility just a few days after a spinal cord injury. This incredible capacity attracted the attention of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/es\/caixaresearch-meeting-health-2023-who-is-who-leonor-saude\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Leonor Sa\u00fade<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, a CaixaResearch researcher at the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine in Lisbon. Her team discovered that, because these fish never stop growing, they never stop creating neurons, so <\/span><b>the neurons lost in the injury can be replaced with new ones<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. In addition, unlike what normally occurs in mammals, the lesion doesn\u2019t scar or accumulate senescent cells. Using drugs to achieve similar results in mice, Sa\u00fade\u2019s team was able to improve motor and sensory recovery in these animals after injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><em><b>The creation of electronic skin<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">What if robotics advanced so far that it was impossible to distinguish androids from humans? In that case, perhaps empathy would be the only thing that could help us distinguish them from ourselves. The premise that Philip K. Dick plays with in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">(the novel on which the film <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Blade Runner <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">is based) tells of a world in which it\u2019s possible to <\/span><b>develop synthetic skin and organs that are so advanced they are exactly like humans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. Although we\u2019re not there yet, many scientists share this drive to develop technologies that mimic and interact with the human body.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">CaixaResearch researcher <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/en\/caixaimpulse-health-innovation-call-2023-project-collagen-biobatteries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Ana Pina<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, is developing an electronic skin, or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">e-skin<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, comprising an ultra-thin biobattery made from collagen. This makes it possible to <\/span><b>create flexible, biocompatible electronic patches <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">capable of monitoring health, detecting diseases and regenerating tissue. \u201cSome things are still science fiction but, for example, today it\u2019s possible to recreate sensory dimensions in electronic skin. In other words, materials integrated within a network of sophisticated sensors are already being used that have similar properties to human skin, such as the ability to detect and respond to temperature, sweat and humidity\u201d explains the researcher.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10139\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10139\" class=\"wp-image-10139\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Ana Pina<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">There are still many hurdles to overcome, such as developing materials with increased biocompatibility and durability, flexible microelectronics and fully biocompatible battery materials. But there\u2019s been a large number of advances in recent years. &#8220;Self-powered electronic skin systems are expected to make a novel contribution to a society seeking cleaner, more sustainable and efficient energy solutions. This is where our team plans to make a difference, in the <\/span><b>development of collagen-based biobatteries <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">that combine innovative materials with flexible microelectronics for portable applications&#8221; adds Ana Pina.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><em><b>Are we going to generate human organs in animals?<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Margaret Attwood&#8217;s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Oryx and Crake <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">is set in a dystopian future when biotechnology has reached levels we\u2019re only just beginning to imagine today. Among other things, society has resolved the shortage of organs for transplants by using <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">pigoons<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, <\/span><b>genetically modified pigs in which human organs are developed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. The book delves into certain bioethical debates that are present today in projects such as that of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caixaresearch.org\/en\/caixaresearch-health-call-projects-2024-human-organs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Xabier Aranguren<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, CaixaResearch researcher at the Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">The project he leads aims to resolve the shortage of organs for transplantation, a global medical crisis that affects thousands of people every year, by creating functional human organs (such as hearts and lungs) in pigs. \u201cThe goal of <\/span><b>producing functional human organs in animals <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">lies somewhere between science fact and science fiction&#8221; says Aranguren. &#8220;As a scientist, I strongly believe that animal research is a key tool for biomedical progress. In the specific case of creating organs for transplantation, we\u2019re talking about a real possibility of saving thousands of human lives. However, <\/span><b>that doesn\u2019t mean we should see animals merely as resources to be exploited<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">&#8220;.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10143\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10143\" class=\"wp-image-10143\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog2-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Xabier Aranguren<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">According to the researcher, <\/span><b>there are several obstacles, both scientific and social, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">to animal-generated human organ transplants becoming a clinical reality. &#8220;From a scientific point of view, the biggest limitation is the low integration of human cells once introduced into animal embryos. We also need to better understand how to guide tissue creation precisely, ensuring that human cells integrate only within the desired organ and not other parts of the animal&#8221; he explains. &#8220;On a social and ethical level, the challenge is to build trust. There are legitimate concerns about animal welfare, the ethical limits of using human cells and the risk of blurring the boundaries between species\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><em><b>Imagining the future to push the frontiers of knowledge<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">&#8220;Science fiction has imagined much of what science has achieved and will achieve in the near future. For instance, literature is full of characters who are immortal or manage to vanquish time. Currently, it has already been possible to slow down the rate of ageing in laboratory animals, which brings us closer to this dream which, until recently, was pure fantasy. The internet, artificial intelligence, the metaverse&#8230; it was all fiction before reality&#8221; says <\/span><b>Salvador Macip<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, a researcher at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barcelonabeta.org\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Barcelona\u03b2eta Brain Research Center (BBRC) <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, supported by &#8220;la Caixa&#8221; Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10158\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10158\" class=\"wp-image-10158\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Blog4-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-10158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Salvador Macip<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Masip is also the author of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">Jugar a ser dioses<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">, whose Catalan version was awarded the European Prize for Scientific Promotion General Study (Premi Europeu de Divulgaci\u00f3 Cient\u00edfica Estudi General) while its Spanish version was awarded the Premio Nacional de Edici\u00f3n Universitaria as the best popular science work. For the researcher, science advances non-stop and <\/span><b>constantly poses ethical challenges we have to face<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">. &#8220;Science doesn\u2019t have to decide where humanity is going: that\u2019s a job we all have to do together&#8221; he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">&#8220;Should the genetic manipulation of human embryos be allowed? Perhaps only under certain circumstances, such as to prevent disease? Or should we let everyone choose what they want (and can afford) for their children? This is less science fiction than it sounds. <\/span><b>Making these decisions too late or too lightly could lead to a dystopian future<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 300;\">&#8221; he adds. &#8220;Science fiction has always been a testing ground for new ideas. That\u2019s its unique power. We humans are the ones who imagine, investigate and create the future but, above all, we are the ones who decide where we want to go\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8_HbL4uDDTY?si=Q_HxUKQtiaV5kML9\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">\ufeff<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Long before the first robot hoover existed, the laws that would shape its relationship with humans had already been imagined. Almost a century before Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite in history, someone had dreamt it up in the pages of a book. Even cloning and the \u2018de-extinction\u2019 of species were conceived in the mind of a writer before science labs. Throughout history, science fiction has fuelled the imagination of researchers on countless occasions, driving advances that have come to change the world.<\/p>\n<p>The laws of robotics in Isaac Asimov&#8217;s <i>I, Robot <\/i>(1950), space flight in Jules Verne&#8217;s <i>From the Earth to the Moon <\/i>(1865) and genetic engineering in H.G.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[601,602,600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research","category-research-and-responsible-innovation","category-science-outreach"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Science or science fiction? Research that reads like something out of a book - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Science or science fiction? Research that reads like something out of a book - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\ufeff Long before the first robot hoover existed, the laws that would shape its relationship with humans had already been imagined. Almost a century before Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite in history, someone had dreamt it up in the pages of a book. Even cloning and the \u2018de-extinction\u2019 of species were conceived in the mind of a writer before science labs. Throughout history, science fiction has fuelled the imagination of researchers on countless occasions, driving advances that have come to change the world. The laws of robotics in Isaac Asimov&#8217;s I, Robot (1950), space flight in Jules Verne&#8217;s From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and genetic engineering in H.G.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-23T07:58:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-28T10:10:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Thumbnail-DM-Llibre-CaixaResearch2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ubikmedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ubikmedia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/\",\"name\":\"Science or science fiction? 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Research that reads like something out of a book - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Science or science fiction? Research that reads like something out of a book - Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia","og_description":"\ufeff Long before the first robot hoover existed, the laws that would shape its relationship with humans had already been imagined. Almost a century before Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite in history, someone had dreamt it up in the pages of a book. Even cloning and the \u2018de-extinction\u2019 of species were conceived in the mind of a writer before science labs. Throughout history, science fiction has fuelled the imagination of researchers on countless occasions, driving advances that have come to change the world. The laws of robotics in Isaac Asimov&#8217;s I, Robot (1950), space flight in Jules Verne&#8217;s From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and genetic engineering in H.G.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/","og_site_name":"Blog CaixaCi\u00e8ncia","article_published_time":"2025-04-23T07:58:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-28T10:10:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1440,"url":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Thumbnail-DM-Llibre-CaixaResearch2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ubikmedia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ubikmedia","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.caixaresearch.org\/en\/science-or-science-fiction-research-that-reads-like-something-out-of-a-book\/","name":"Science or science fiction? 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