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Published online 6 September 2007 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news070903-16
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Mini-muscles go for a swim
Artificial heart patches can grip, wriggle and pulse.
Rat heart muscle cells have been grown on the surface of a polymer, and the resulting thin film can twist, grip and pulse like a real piece of muscle.
Researchers hope the material may one day be used to make patches to repair a disease-damaged heart, although it may also find a use in tiny robotic devices.
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