科學(xué)家們發(fā)明了一種新型的人造肉，可以像真肉一樣自我修復(fù)

科學(xué)家們發(fā)明了一種新型的人造肉，可以像真肉一樣自我修復(fù)

Artificial flesh is growing ever closer to the real thing. Scientists in Australia have now created a new jelly-like material which they claim has the strength and durability of actual skin, ligaments, or even bone.

人造肉越來越接近真肉了。澳大利亞科學(xué)家最近發(fā)明了一種新的果凍狀材料，他們聲稱這種材料具有皮膚、韌帶甚至骨骼的強(qiáng)度和耐久性。

With the special chemistry we've engineered in the hydrogel, it can repair itself after it has been broken like human skin can, explains chemist Luke Connal from the Australian National University.

澳大利亞國立大學(xué)的化學(xué)家盧克·康納爾解釋說:“我們在水凝膠中設(shè)計(jì)了一種特殊的化學(xué)物質(zhì)，它可以像人類皮膚一樣自我修復(fù)。”

Hydrogels are usually weak, but our material is so strong it could easily lift very heavy objects and can change its shape like human muscles do.

“水凝膠通常很脆弱，但我們的材料很強(qiáng)大，可以輕易舉起很重的物體，而且可以像人類肌肉一樣改變形狀。”

Having a squishy material with such remarkable properties could be huge for the development of next-generation soft robotics and biomedical devices. Creating a shape-changing hydrogel that has multiple functions has proved an ongoing challenge for scientists, even with natural inspiration from jellyfish, sea cucumbers, and Venus fly traps.

擁有這樣一種具有如此卓越性能的柔軟材料，對下一代軟機(jī)器人和生物醫(yī)學(xué)設(shè)備的發(fā)展可能意義重大。盡管從水母、海參和捕蠅草中獲得了自然靈感，但科學(xué)家們?nèi)匀幻媾R著創(chuàng)造一種具有多種功能的可改變形狀的水凝膠的挑戰(zhàn)。

While some hydrogels can withstand mechanical stress, others have self-healing properties, and a few more have the abilities to memorise shapes or change colours.

一些水凝膠可以承受機(jī)械壓力，而另一些具有自愈特性，還有一些更有記憶形狀或改變顏色的能力。

As far as the ANU researchers know, no one else has been able to incorporate all these functions into one all-encompassing gel. At least, not at the speed and efficiency they've achieved.

據(jù)澳大利亞國立大學(xué)的研究人員所知，還沒有人能夠?qū)⑺羞@些功能整合到一個(gè)無所不包的凝膠中。至少，以他們現(xiàn)在的速度和效率是不行的。

Putting their material through multiple tests, the authors claim to have created the first dynamic hydrogel that is strong, tough, fatigue resistant, self-healing and able to change shapes and 'remember' them afterwards.

通過對材料的多次測試，作者聲稱已經(jīng)創(chuàng)造出了第一種強(qiáng)大、堅(jiān)韌、抗疲勞、自愈、能改變形狀并在事后“記住”它們的動態(tài)水凝膠。

The advantages of using such a multifunctional hydrogel is further demonstrated through an ability to lift heavy objects in a reversible and repeatable way upon thermal stimulus, the team writes.

“使用這種多功能水凝膠的優(yōu)點(diǎn)進(jìn)一步得到了證明，它能夠在熱刺激下以可逆和可重復(fù)的方式舉起重物，”研究小組寫道。

Using this material, the researchers made extremely thin films of 'flesh' without any breakage. When these films were heated or cooled, they then changed into different shapes, bending one way or the other before returning back to their original state along with the temperature.

利用這種材料，研究人員制作了沒有任何破損的極薄的“肉”薄膜。當(dāng)這些薄膜被加熱或冷卻時(shí)，它們會改變成不同的形狀，以這樣或那樣的方式彎曲，然后隨著溫度的變化回到它們原來的狀態(tài)。

Unlike many other hydrogels, which can sometimes take 10 minutes or more to change shape, the authors say their gel takes only 10 seconds to bend. Here, the key is said to be the gel's dynamic hydrogen bonds and dynamic imine (carbon-nitrogen) bonds, which work together to form "unprecedented properties".

其他的水凝膠有時(shí)需要10分鐘甚至更長的時(shí)間來改變形狀，與之不同的是，作者說他們的凝膠只需要10秒鐘就可以彎曲。在這里，關(guān)鍵是凝膠的動態(tài)氫鍵和動態(tài)亞胺(碳氮)鍵，它們共同作用形成了“前所未有的特性”。

Dynamic bonds have a high response to stimuli, which makes them perfect for environmental adaptation and self-repair, and imine bonds in particular have fast reaction kinetics that can enable rapid self-healing.

動態(tài)化學(xué)鍵對外界刺激有很高的反應(yīng)能力，這使得它們非常適合環(huán)境適應(yīng)和自我修復(fù)，特別是亞胺鍵具有快速反應(yīng)動力學(xué)，能夠快速自我修復(fù)。

What's more, the authors say these materials can be easily prepared using simple chemistry, and if other polymers are added to the molecular mix, perhaps even more functions can be achieved.

更重要的是，作者說這些材料可以用簡單的化學(xué)方法很容易地制備，如果在分子混合物中加入其他聚合物，也許可以實(shí)現(xiàn)更多的功能。

If temperature is somehow used as a control, the authors think this gel could one day be moved like an artificial muscle.

如果用溫度作為控制，作者認(rèn)為這種凝膠有一天可以像人造肌肉一樣移動。

In a lot of science fiction movies, we see the most challenging jobs being done by artificial humanoid robots. Our research has made a significant step towards making this possible, says material engineer Zhen Jiang.

“在很多科幻電影中，我們看到最具挑戰(zhàn)性的工作是由人工類人機(jī)器人完成的。材料工程師鄭江(音譯)說。

We anticipate that researchers working on the next-generation of soft robots will be interested and excited about our new way of making hydrogels.

“我們預(yù)計(jì)下一代軟機(jī)器人的研究人員將對我們制造水凝膠的新方法感興趣和興奮。”

In the meantime, the team is hoping to turn their hydrogel into a 3D-printable ink.

與此同時(shí)，該團(tuán)隊(duì)希望將他們的水凝膠轉(zhuǎn)化為3d打印墨水。