Dayal, PratyushPratyushDayalKuksenok, OlgaOlgaKuksenokBalazs, Anna C.Anna C.Balazs2025-08-302025-08-302013-01-0810.1073/pnas.12134321102-s2.0-84872193867http://repository.iitgn.ac.in/handle/IITG2025/2118123271807Using computational modeling, we show that self-oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels can both emit and sense a chemical signal and thus drive neighboring gel pieces to spontaneously self-aggregate, so that the system exhibits autochemotaxis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the closest system to the ultimate self-recombining material, which can be divided into separated parts and the parts move autonomously to assemble into a structure resembling the original, uncut sample. We also show that the gels' coordinated motion can be controlled by light, allowing us to achieve selective self-aggregation and control over the shape of the gel aggregates. By exposing the BZ gels to specific patterns of light and dark, we design a BZ gel "train" that leads the movement of its "cargo." Our findings pave the way for creating reconfigurable materials from self-propelled elements, which autonomously communicate with neighboring units and thereby actively participate in constructing the final structure.falseAutochemotactic gels | Autochemotactic self-organization | Self-oscillating gelsArticlehttps://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/110/2/431.full.pdf10916490431-4368 January 201336arJournal33