"Revolutionary Magnetic Workout Enhances Lab-Grown Muscles for Robots"
Scientists at MIT have developed a magnetic hydrogel "sandwich" that controls the orientation of muscle cells in a lab dish, mimicking the alignment found in natural muscles. By changing the position of magnets, the muscle cells aligned into fibers that contracted in synchrony. This breakthrough could lead to the development of lab-grown tissues for grafting into people with damaged muscles or coating robots with human-like senses and flexible motor control. The system also sheds light on muscle cells' ability to adapt, align, and regenerate.