These heart-muscle cells, with key contractile elements shown in red, could power robotic devices.
Credit: Kevin Kit Parker, Harvard University

From the Labs

From the Labs: Nanotechnology

  • November/December 2007
  • By Kevin Bullis

New publications, experiments and breakthroughs in nanotechnology--and what they mean.

   

Muscle-Powered Devices
Novel machines could improve drug testing and lead to new kinds of robots

SOURCE: "Muscular Thin Films for Building Actuators and Powering Devices"
George M. Whitesides, Kevin Kit Parker, et al.
Science 317: 1366-1370

RESULTS: Researchers at Harvard University have made several small mechanical devices powered by heart muscle harvested from rats. The creations include pumps, a device that "walks," and one that swims.

 

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