ASBMB science writer Rajendrani Mukohpadhyay explores the science guiding our changing view of bones that do more than hold us together.

At lab benches and computer desks throughout the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Boston, researchers are attempting to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems. The questions its scientists are asking are not uncommon: How can we discover more effective drugs? How can we solve the global energy crisis? But the possible answers they’re developing are atypical, such as using autonomous microrobots to diagnose and treat diseases.