Researchers have created contracting muscle implants that can mimic some of the benefits of exercise, including improving muscle mass, strength and bone density while also slowing age-related muscle changes1. The research, published in Nature Aging today, is still a proof of concept, but if translated from animals into people, could help to prevent muscle loss due to ageing, chronic medical conditions and in bed-ridden people, say the authors. Muscle wasting affects many people, particularly older individuals, but there are no good solutions for the condition apart from exercising, says Shyh-Chang Ng, a co-author of the study and a biologist at the Institute for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in Beijing. 'But the people who need to do exercise the most often turn out to be the people who are unable exercise,' he says. Using a muscle graft to mimic exercise response is an intriguing premise, says James White, a physiologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. However,...
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