Plants stretch toward sunlight in photosynthesis, their leaves curving to seize every beam. A CUHK team has harnessed this dance with light to shape soft, magnetic materials. Their revolutionary technology using lasers and magnets—precisely calibrating light intensity during 3D printing—transforms a flat magnetic hydrogel into a dynamic 3D surface. Beyond personalised medical patches, this breakthrough also enables human face replication, information storage, and biomimetic soft robots—all through tailored light adjustments.