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Researchers at Harvard came up with a technique for creating “muscular thin films,” elastic polymer sheets coated with living muscle; applying electricity to the films can make them bend, roll up, and wiggle. One device made from the material, a simple triangular sheet, was able to swim by undulating one corner; another was able to push itself along by expanding and contracting a single leg.

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Researchers at Harvard came up with a technique for creating “muscular thin films,” elastic polymer sheets coated with living muscle; applying electricity to the films can make them bend, roll up, and wiggle. One device made from the material, a simple triangular sheet, was able to swim by undulating one corner; another was able to push itself along by expanding and contracting a single leg.

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