Building functional human muscle in the laboratory has long been a goal of regenerative medicine, but one stubborn obstacle remains: real muscle is not just a mass of cells. Its strength and function depend on exquisitely ordered myofibers, all aligned in precise directions that vary from one muscle to another. Reproducing that internal order has proved far harder than shaping muscle tissue into the right external form.

Published in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, a research team from Xi’an Jiaotong University has now found a way to solve both problems at once. By using electric forces during the electrohydrodynamic bioprinting process, they have created living muscle tissues whose cells naturally line up just as they do in the human body, showing how electric forces can be used not just to precisely bioprint tissue, but to quietly instruct cells how to organize themselves.

Skeletal muscles come in many forms. Some fibers run in long, parallel bundles that power our arms and legs. Others curve or fan out, helping us grip, chew or control movement with precision. Despite these differences, all muscles share a common microscopic feature: their cells are highly aligned. This alignment allows individual muscle cells to fuse into long fibers and contract efficiently. Without it, muscle tissue is weak and poorly functional.