During the early stages of life, organs do not just appear in their final form. They take shape through a process of controlled bending, twisting, and folding. These changes help cells organize into ...

Advances in machine learning and shape-memory polymers are enabling engineers to design for mechanical performance first and ...

Drawing inspiration from how plants change shape in response to environmental stimuli, Harvard scientists from the Wyss Institute and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have ...

Combining materials with different swelling ratios creates structures that transform into tubes when exposed to water. (Courtesy: Yu Bin Lee) Materials that controllably change shape over time – often ...

Using a new technique known as 4D printing, researchers can print out dynamic 3D structures capable of changing their shapes over time. Such 4D-printed items could one day be used in everything from ...

Now, 4D technology has been used to create a soft robot capable of analyzing the soil. Drawing inspiration from the seed structure of the South African geranium (Pelargonium appendiculatum), which ...

Nowadays, 3D printing allows items to be created from a wide variety of materials — plastic, ceramic, glass, metal and even stranger ingredients such as chocolate and living cells. The machines work ...