University College London (UCL) researchers developed a hydrogel-based axon model to test myelination drugs under more physiologically realistic mechanical conditions. Published in Nature Methods, the platform uses tunable polyacrylamide hydrogel micropillars that match the softness and geometry of native axons. When oligodendrocytes were cultured on hydrogel pillars tuned to realistic elasticity, several remyelination drugs showed weaker performance than in rigid model systems—suggesting earlier screening may have generated misleading “hits.” The work links engineering controls directly to translational outcomes in MS drug development by emphasizing mechanobiology as a key variable in preclinical evaluation.