Engineered neuromuscular actuators for medicine, meat, and machines

Movement is central to life. Neuromuscular tissues control voluntary movement in humans and many other living creatures, offering significant advantages in adaptability and robustness as compared to abiotic actuators. The impressive functional capabilities of neuromuscular tissues have inspired researchers to attempt de novo synthesis of the biological motor system via tissue engineering. This article highlights key recent advances in tissue engineering skeletal muscle and discusses promising strategies to control engineered muscle via biological neural networks and abiotic soft electronic interfaces. Challenges associated with cell sourcing, biomaterials design, and scalable precision manufacturing, along with emerging strategies to address those challenges, are presented. Finally, we highlight how engineered neuromuscular tissues have enabled studying, controlling, and deploying them as actuators in a range of real-world applications including drug discovery, regenerative medicine, cellular agriculture, and soft robotics. Graphic abstract