Handle with care: Mobile microgrippers pick up cells in a pinch

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In tissue engineering, the tiniest bit of improper force can harm a living culture. Spheroids—3D clumps of cells—can be used to model complex human tissues, because they can re-create specific cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix interactions. But these spheroids are also fragile, and common techniques of moving them manually via suction can easily damage them.