Full Text:
Pictured here are artificial cilia created by scientists at the Bio-inspired Soft Materials Center at Brandeis University. These scientists are using fundamentally new approaches to study bioinspired soft materials, with the ultimate goal of developing new materials for artificial muscles, self-pumping fluids and self-healing materials.
One project focuses on a group of artificial cilia that beat together in sync -- similar to the collective movements of a school of fish. Such cooperative action could lead to the development of more sophisticated materials to carry out more complicated tasks -- like pipes that pump themselves. This center is among the Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers supported by the National Science Foundation.Image credit: Brandeis University
