Imagine a robot performing surgery on a living body with perfection, without the help of a human surgeon. Or a drone zipping through the air smooth as a bird, fighting forest fires or catching environmental polluters. These futuristic-sounding ideas are already in the works, as robotics transforms life as we know it. The stories that follow from Science News take a look at the innovative ways that scientists are building machines to complete tasks – and even to think – as well as where the scientists are finding their sources of inspiration.