
09/09/2025
Biomedical engineers have created lab-grown skeletal muscle that can contract like natural tissue and repair itself after injury. When implanted in mice, the engineered muscle integrated with the body and regained strength after damage, marking the first successful self-healing muscle inside a living animal. Key to this breakthrough was combining mature muscle fibers with satellite stem cells in supportive niches that promote repair. In laboratory tests, the muscle was over ten times stronger than earlier versions and continued to grow after implantation. Researchers tracked its progress in real time, observing blood vessel integration and active contractions. This innovation offers promise for treating muscle injuries and degenerative diseases. Future studies will explore restoring full muscle function in living systems.