An artificial heart that beats almost exactly like the real thing has been developed by Alain Carpentier, France’s leading cardiac surgeon, and engineers from EADS, Europe’s aerospace and defence giant.

Sensors in the artificial heart will automatically regulate the heart rate and blood flow, detecting the body’s needs, increasing the rhythm when a patients are walking, for instance, and slowing it when they are resting. A pseudo-skin of biosynthetic, microporous materials reduces the risk of clots.