Gene-driven self-morphing microtubule-based active matter.

Gene-circuit instructions embedded in a cell-free microtubule network autonomously program active stresses that yield steady, pulsed, arrested, and oscillatory mechanical states.

• Why it matters: Shape-changing or flowing materials usually need external fields or fixed cues, leaving a gap for autonomous, genetically controlled mechanochemical behavior.
• What they did: The authors built a cell-free gene expression system inside dense microtubules so DNA encoded motors, cross-linkers, and transcription factors, then modeled the dynamics with a coarse-grained reaction–mechanics framework.
• The result: The model quantitatively links gene-circuit parameters—expression rates, degradation kinetics, and regulatory topology—to the emergence and time evolution of active-matter states, enabling programmable control layers for autonomous active systems.

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