This delicate flower was created in a lab – and could revolutionise surgery

Scientists create polymer sheets that can be programmed to change shape over time, which could be used to make the next generation of medical implants

The delicate flower bud bursts into life, opening layer after layer of brightly coloured petals, first large and red, then small and purple, and finally the innermost ones - tiny and orange.

But as convincing as the bloom may seem, it is not a work of nature. Scientists created the flowering bud after learning how to make polymer sheets that can be programmed to change shape over time.