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Professor Kevin ‘Kit’ Parker explains the design of a miniature robotic stingray. Along with a gold skeleton and a gel-like biomaterial, it contains a single layer of hearts cells from a rat. These cardiac cells were engineered to be responsive to light. Using specific wavelengths as a guidance system, the robot is able to negotiate a small obstacle course. The motion of the stingray would help us understand how the human heart pumps blood and the resulting diseases.

Photo: Tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray and a little skate, Leucoraja erinacea/Karaghen Hudson