Article: https://techxplore.com/news/2019-04-dna-lifelike-machines.html
Paper: https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/29/eaaw3512

Engineers at Cornell have successfully used DNA to make tiny life imitating machines. That's how I read it.

Could this be one step closer to understanding the mechanisms that resulted in life itself?

I think you read it correctly but these are biopolymer machines. They could be used to make sensory robots but degrade after 2 cycles of growth.  It is a superb and nnovative use of the replicating properties of DNA but very much in its infancy IMO.