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A light-controlled 'muscle' could give synthetic cells a new way to move

Phys · · 640 words · By Jason Maderer

Researchers developed a method using light to control the contraction and movement of artificial protein networks, mimicking biological cell function. This technique utilizes calcium as a trigger, allowing the network to contract repeatedly without relying solely on ATP-powered motor proteins. The work demonstrates potential for creating controllable actuation systems for synthetic cell-like delivery applications.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-muscle-synthetic-cells.html

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Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 8
schedule Pending 5
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info Single Source 1
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“Engineers interested in creating artificial cells to deliver drugs to unhealthy parts of the body face a key challenge: for a cell-like system to move, change shape, or divide, it needs a way to generate force on command.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that artificial cells are engineered particles designed to mimic biological functions, including drug delivery to diseased cells. The general concept of needing a force generation mechanism for movement or shape change is consistent with the context provided by the search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — An artificial cell, synthetic cell or minimal cell is an engineered particle that mimics one or many functions of a biological cell. Often, artificial cells are biological or polymeric membranes which…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_cell
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web search NEUTRAL — Mainly, Artificial cells are made up of a basic structure like a cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm and cellular organelles. Nanotechnology has been used to make substances that possess accurate perfor…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348073038_Designing…
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web search NEUTRAL — Drug Delivery: Artificial cells could be programmed to deliver drugs directly to diseased cells, minimizing side effects and maximizing treatment efficacy. Regenerative Medicine: These cells could pot…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/blurring-lines-scientists-cra…
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“Biological cells rely on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to move muscles, transport substances across membranes, and perform other functions.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that ATP is the energy-carrying molecule in living cells, used to power various processes including muscle contraction and general cellular functions.
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web search NEUTRAL — ATP or adenosine triphosphate is a nucleotide that provides energy that every cell in our body requires to perform various functions. Adenosine triphosphate is synthesized by the process known as phot…
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/biology/atp-energy-currency-of…
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web search NEUTRAL — Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleoside triphosphate [2] that provides free energy of approximately 58 kJ / mol (0.6 eV) [3] to drive and support many processes in living cells, such as muscle co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate
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web search NEUTRAL — Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), energy-carrying molecule found in the cells of all living things. ATP captures chemical energy obtained from the breakdown of food molecules and releases it to fuel other…
https://www.britannica.com/science/adenosine-triphosphate
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“Many cellular machines couple ATP hydrolysis (a process where chemical energy stored in ATP is released) directly to motion.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results discuss ATP hydrolysis and the enzymes (ATPases) that use this process to perform work or drive reactions, confirming the coupling of ATP breakdown to mechanical or chemical work.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hydrolysis of the phosphate groups in ATP is especially exergonic, because the resulting inorganic phosphate molecular ion is greatly stabilized by multiple resonance structures, making the products (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATP_hydrolysis
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web search NEUTRAL — What is the process of hydrolysis?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbio…
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web search NEUTRAL — Enzymes that hydrolyze ATP in order to perform work or to drive endergonic reactions are referred to as ATPases. ATP synthase is the ubiquitous enzyme that is responsible for the regenerative synthesi…
https://escholarship.org/content/qt9g5724z1/qt9g5724z1.pdf
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“Some single-celled organisms called ciliates use a different strategy. A pulse of calcium triggers an ultrafast contraction, and ATP is used afterward to pump calcium back into storage and reset the system.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results describe a mechanism where calcium release triggers rapid contraction, and ATP is subsequently used to recharge calcium stores, fitting the description of the ciliate mechanism.
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web search NEUTRAL — Electrical stimulation in the form of a cardiac action potential triggers the release of calcium from the cell's internal calcium store, the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The rise in calcium causes the cell…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_muscle
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web search NEUTRAL — They use ATP to recharge calcium stores, and then a pulse of calcium triggers an ultrafast motion. It’s closer to a Prius than a pure gas engine. You charge the calcium ‘battery’ and release it on dem…
https://coe.gatech.edu/news/2026/04/researchers-use-light-ma…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Role of Calcium and ATP Calcium ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum to initiate contraction.The cycle of attachment, pulling, and detachment repeats as long as calcium and ATP are av…
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/comprehensive-overview-…
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“In a study led by Georgia Tech published in Nature Communications, researchers learned how to use a similar mechanism to control the movements of artificial protein networks without relying on ATP-powered motor proteins. Instead, they used calcium as a trigger to make the networks contract or relax.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that a study led by Georgia Tech, published in Nature Communications, demonstrated controlling artificial protein networks using calcium as a trigger, bypassing the need for ATP-powered motor proteins.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The history of the Georgia Institute of Technology can be traced back to Reconstruction-era plans to develop the industrial base of the Southern United States. Founded on October 13, 1885, in Atlanta …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Georgia_Institu…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ankur Singh (Hindi: अंकुर सिंह) is an Indian-American biomedical engineer and scientist whose research focuses on engineering immune system. He is a Carl Ring Family Endowed Professor at Georgia Insti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankur_Singh
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Tech
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“In the study, the team produced and purified Tetrahymena thermophila calcium-binding protein 2 (Tcb2), which is found in ciliates.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the research team produced and purified the protein Tcb2, which is identified as a calcium-binding protein found in ciliates.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)...
https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tmcb20
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web search NEUTRAL — In the National Science Foundation-funded study, the team produced and purified Tetrahymena thermophila calcium-binding protein 2 (Tcb2), which is found in ciliates. The protein forms a fibrous networ…
https://coe.gatech.edu/news/2026/04/researchers-use-light-ma…
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web search NEUTRAL — EF-hand calcium binding proteins are key macromolecular components of many unique filament systems and ultrafast contractile structures found in protists.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41109351/
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“The protein forms a fibrous network and contracts when exposed to calcium.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that the Tcb2 protein forms a network structure that undergoes contraction when exposed to calcium.
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web search NEUTRAL — Light-driven uncaging of the photolabile calcium chelator DMNP-EDTA stimulates rapid localized self-assembly of Tcb2 into micron-scale gel-like protein networks. We quantify how the growth, size, and …
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12661445/
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web search NEUTRAL — Here, we define the quantitative requirements for calcium-dependent self-assembly of the Tetrahymena cortical cytoskeletal protein Tetrahymena calcium binding protein 2 (Tcb2) using a microscopy-based…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002192582…
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web search NEUTRAL — Our new paper explores how light-controlled calcium signals trigger proteins to self-assemble in real time. Using the calcium-binding protein Tcb2, we show how a single molecular site can switch on la…
https://bhamla.gatech.edu/news/new-paper-on-self-assembly-of…
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“The researchers reconstituted Tcb2 protein networks in the lab and then used a light-sensitive calcium chelator (a 'cage' molecule that holds the calcium until illuminated) to control when and where calcium was released.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the researchers reconstituted Tcb2 networks and used a light-sensitive calcium chelator (like DMNP-EDTA) to precisely control the release of calcium.
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web search NEUTRAL — Nutzen Sie die Online Frankierung und deutschlandweit über 40.000 Postfilialen, Paketshops, Packstationen und Paketboxen.
https://www.dhl.de/de/privatkunden.html
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https://www.dhl.com/de-de/home/sendungsverfolgung.html
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help
“They projected light patterns of stars and circles to prompt the network to assemble and contract in matching shapes.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or cross-references regarding projecting light patterns of stars and circles to prompt the network to assemble and contract.
info
“With pulsed illumination, the network can contract repeatedly over approximately 150 cycles, with contraction speeds of about 0.4 micrometers per second.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific quantitative details (150 cycles, 0.4 micrometers per second) are mentioned in the context of the provided evidence set, but the evidence provided for this claim is not independently corroborated by multiple distinct sources, making it difficult to confirm the exact numbers across different sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Helion Energy, Inc. is an American fusion research company located in Everett, Washington. It is developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce fusion power by combining deuterium with hel…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helion_Energy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) is the number of pulses of a repeating signal in a specific time unit. The term is used within a number of technical disciplines, notably radar. In radar, a radio …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-repetition_frequency
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On June 12, 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Pulse was hosting a "Latin Nigh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_nightclub_shooting
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“The team also demonstrated transport of microscopic particles using the network's forces, a step toward controllable actuation that could be useful in synthetic-cell-like delivery systems.”
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“The light cleaves a 'cage' molecule holding calcium, releasing calcium only where the pattern is projected.”
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“By using simulations and reinforcement learning, we learned how to generate light patterns that controlled the network to push or pull according to our wishes.”
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“The work grew out of Bhamla's bioinspired engineering lab, which has previously built springtail-inspired jumping robots and water-strider-inspired swimmers.”
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“Publication details: Xiangting Lei et al, Light-induced assembly and repeatable actuation in Ca2+-driven chemomechanical protein networks, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-69651-2”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.