Fantastic Spastic Elastic Plastic

Imagine a thin plastic thread inserted into a patient’s arteries that, when exposed to light, transforms into a corkscrew-shaped stent to keep blood vessels open.

Such shape-shifting materials are a staple of sci-fi fantasy, but two professors are working on bringing the concept to fruition — perhaps at a hospital or toy store near you.

Since the late 1990s, Robert Langer of MIT and Andreas Lendlein, of the University of Technology in Aachen, Germany, have been working to create plastics that can change shape when exposed to different wavelengths of light.

Originally, the professors’ material shifted shape with the introduction of heat; now it warps with certain wavelengths of light. Though it’s uncertain when the process and its resulting products would be available, applications could range from improving minimally invasive surgical procedures to creating funky toys for kids.

By Rachel Metz

Full Story: http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,67228,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1