4D bioprinting of shape-morphing tissues within granular support hydrogels. (CREDIT: Advanced Functional Materials) One of the most powerful parts of the study was the ability to program movement.

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.

Enter 4D materials, which are like 3D materials, but they change shape when they are exposed to specific environmental cues, such as light or water.

4D-printed shape-memory polymers adapt to stimuli, promising advances in aerospace, healthcare, and fashion with evolving AM techniques.

Researchers at EPFL have created the first 4D lipid atlas of vertebrate development, revealing how fats shape our bodies from ...

Italian researchers have created a novel 4D-printed biodegradable soft robot shaped like a seed that changes shape in response to changes in humidity and can navigate through the soil. The device ...

New shape-changing 4D materials hold promise for morphodynamic tissue engineering Date: February 25, 2021 Source: University of Illinois at Chicago Summary: New hydrogel-based materials that can ...

New hydrogel-based materials that can change shape in response to psychological stimuli, such as water, could be the next generation of materials used to bioengineer tissues and organs.