"Self-assembled, interlocked threads: Spinning yarn with no machine needed: Engineers discover spontaneous intertwining of 2D polymer sheets into self-rotating 3D 'dancing' spirals"

Researchers unexpectedly discovered that the ability for spirals to form in nature also happens in some non-biological systems that convert chemical energy into mechanical action -- allowing two-dimensional polymer sheets to rise and rotate in spiral helices without the application of external power. This self-assembly into coherent three-dimensional structures represents the group's latest contribution in the field of soft robotics and chemo-mechanical systems.