Scientists create 'lifelike' hydrogel that reshapes for weeks after one light flash

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology developed a shape-changing hydrogel called STERS that keeps morphing for up to four weeks after a single near-infrared light exposure. The material, built on gallium-based liquid metal particles, was tested with stem cells and an electrode monitoring electrical signals in rat embryo development.

• A single near-infrared flash triggers reactions in the hydrogel for up to 4 weeks
• STERS combines gallium-based liquid metal particles with vinyl monomers
• The hydrogel guided stem cells into bone and neural-like cells
• It was tested on an electrode monitoring rat embryo brain signals