PREVIEW

Researchers Make Tech Breakthrough That Could Give You ‘Spidey Senses’. Researchers have developed a method to print ultra-thin sensors onto your fingers to give you enhanced senses like Spider-Man. The adaptive and eco-friendly sensors can be directly and imperceptibly printed onto a wide range of biological surfaces, whether that’s a finger or a flower petal. The method, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, takes its inspiration from spider silk, which can conform and stick to a range of surfaces. These ‘spider silks’ also incorporate bioelectronics, so that different sensing capabilities can be added to the ‘web’. The fibres, at least 50 times smaller than a human hair, are so lightweight that the researchers printed them directly onto the fluffy seedhead of a dandelion without collapsing its structure. When printed on human skin, the fibre sensors conform to the skin and expose the sweat pores, so the wearer doesn’t detect their presence. Tests of the fibres printed onto a human finger suggest they could be used as continuous health monitors - but could also fundamentally change how we interact with our world by enhancing our senses. Just like the Marvel comic book character!