Robotic surgery has become a familiar part of modern healthcare, but the machines used in operating theatres are usually purpose-built systems designed for a narrow set of tasks. humanoid robots, despite rapid advances in recent years,

In a groundbreaking development, two humanoid robots, teleoperated by human surgeons, successfully performed gallbladder removal surgery on a live pig.

"It's a fraction of the cost and it takes a fraction of the space in an operating room," said Shanglei Liu, MD, an assistant professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, one of the pap...