Most of the things we encounter in daily life are extremely static, or at least unresponsive, compared to the way living things work. That’s true for clothes: You put them on, they stay on, and if you want them to change you unzip zippers or undo buttons.
But a new class of workout clothing leverages living bacteria, which expand when exposed to moisture and contract when dehydrated. Developed by a multidisciplinary team at MIT in collaboration with athletic-wear company New Balance, the clothes have vents that open automatically as the wearer starts to sweat.
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