Collaborate Disseminate
Researchers have developed a novel bioink that uses a sustained-release hormone to promote the growth and regeneration of 3D-printed muscle tissues. Their approach opens the door to developing new therapies to help people who’ve suffered muscle loss or… Continue reading New bioink promotes growth & regeneration of 3D-printed muscle tissue
While multi-material 3D printers do already exist, the filament that they extrude is typically all one material at any one point in the printing process. A new system produces actual multi-material filaments, however, and they boast a potentially very … Continue reading Twisty multi-material filaments could serve as artificial muscles
We’ve been hearing a lot about “artificial muscles,” which allow robotic devices or prosthetic limbs to perform human-like motions. And while most of them have been produced in labs utilizing high-tech materials, a new type could be made by hobbyists u… Continue reading Pneumatic artificial muscles can be manufactured by a 3D printer
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a lightweight, wearable textile exomuscle that uses sensors embedded in its fabric to detect a user’s movement intentions and chip in extra force as needed. Initial tests show a significant boost in endurance.Co… Continue reading Wearable muscles offer an impressive upper-body endurance boost
Researchers have developed a new type of artificial muscle that’s entirely made out of natural proteins. Responding to changes in its environment allows the muscle to flex on demand, which could make it useful for implants, prosthetics or robotics.Cont… Continue reading Artificial muscles made of human proteins make for better implants
“Muscle shirt” may soon take on a whole new meaning if new research out of Washington University in St. Louis pans out. A team has found a way to use bacteria to produce synthetic muscle proteins, which can then be spun into fibers to make clothing, pr… Continue reading Synthetic muscle fibers could make for clothing tougher than Kevlar
Tiny robots could serve all kinds of useful functions, but shrinking their actuators has proven challenging. Now researchers at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia have made artificial muscles that surpass your puny natural ones, inspired b… Continue reading DNA-inspired artificial muscles contract by “supercoiling”
One of the ways scientists hope to rebuild muscles in patients where they are lacking is by taking cells responsible for entirely other functions in the human body and repurposing them. Known as direct cell reprogramming, scientists have now combined t… Continue reading Reprogrammed cells mix with hybrid scaffold to rebuild injured muscle
Soft-bodied robots move via pneumatic “muscles” that are selectively inflated or deflated. And while the muscles themselves may be soft and squishy, they’re usually hooked up to hard, unwieldy pumps. A new pump, however, is both small and flexible.Cont… Continue reading Thin, flexible pump could make soft robots even softer
When the heart is injured it can’t repair itself, meaning that heart failure often requires a transplant of the whole organ. But now, scientists at EPFL have developed an artificial aorta that can help pump blood, taking some of the pressure off the he… Continue reading Artificial aorta takes pressure off the heart to reduce transplants