Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, a China-led team cultivated the cellulose-secreting bacterium Taonella mepensis inside thin silicone tubes, producing hollow hydrogel cylinders of extraordinary purity. After a 30 % strain twist and overnight drying, the resulting fibers reached 1.06 GPa tensile strength—higher than any previously reported bacterial-cellulose thread—while remaining light enough to lift 342,000 times their own mass. Exposure to water vapor triggers a rapid untwisting motion that peaks at 884 revolutions per minute per metre, a speed unmatched by existing biopolymer actuators. No synthetic additives are required; the response emerges from reversible hydrogen-bond rearrangement between nanofibrils. Stored fibers retain 86 % of their rotational speed after eight months, and prototypes already function as remote rain sensors, on–off switches and self-opening curtains. The work, supported by China’s National Key R&D Program, points toward low-carbon, biodegradable hardware for soft robotics and environmental monitoring.
