Turns out that robotics researchers have been busy figuring out how to use natural muscle cells - "nature's actuators" - to power new robots. Now MIT robo-boffins say they've figured out how to overcome a key limitation on those muscle packs attached to synthetic skeletons - by creating artificial tendons, according to a report by MIT News.

These tendons can both reduce the tearing that natural muscle is prone to and reduce the size at which muscle packs can be effective, possibly leading to what MIT News called self-healing "muscly droids" and "muscle-bound bots" that could not only explore hostile terrain, reducing the need to shoot Elon Musk to Mars, at least for exploration purposes, but possibly one day perform Fantastic Voyage-like surgical projects, if not yet with assistance from

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