In a recent Communication to the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor Zhibin Guan, graduate students Aaron Kushner and Gregory Williams, and undergraduate student John Vossler, reported the first synthetic polymer to possess the advanced mechanical properties found in many natural materials, including good resistance to deformation, high toughness, and adaptive properties such as shape memory. Inspired by skeletal muscle protein titin, this biomimetic modular polymer has many possible applications, including implants, prosthetics, and #smart# materials. This work is highlighted in Nature Chemistry and Chemical and Engineering News.