A muscle that no longer answers to the brain might sound useless. MIT researchers are trying to turn that idea into medicine. In a study published in Nature Communications, the team described a new implant called a myoneural actuator, or MNA. It uses living skeletal muscle that has been surgically rewired so a computer, not the brain, can control it. In rodent tests, the system restored squeezing motion in the small intestine and also passed sensory signals back toward the brain, raising the possibility of future implants that could help revive organ function and restore some lost bodily sensations. The work comes from researchers at the MIT Media Lab, the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics, and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Senior author Hugh Herr led the study with postdoctoral associate Guillermo Herrera-Arcos and former postdoc Hyungeun Song. Myoneural actuator (MNA) for biohybrid systems. The ability to control organ actuation facilitates modulation of human biology. (CREDIT: Nature Communications) Rewiring muscle for a different job The idea starts with a stubborn medical problem. Many …