A fishy tail

A fascinating article reporting the generation of a "biohybrid device" - namely, a fish-shaped mechanical device which is able to swim through contraction of engineered human heart cells. The aim of the research is ultimately to understand more about the heart, and potentially to be able to produce replacement heart tissues for patients.

The same team has previously designed other bio-inspired creations, including a jellyfish and a stingray. The current paper, published in Science, notes that the authors have filed a patent application for the latest work.