1. This prototype glove includes soft sensors that are capable of registering movement of each finger individually. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University 2. The silicone-textile hybrid sensors are highly flexible and resilient, making them excellent candidates for sensing body movement. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University

Hybrid silicone-fabric sensor detects fine motor movements by flexing with the body. Wearable technologies – from heart rate monitors to virtual reality headsets – are exploding in popularity in both the consumer and research spaces, but most of the electronic sensors that detect and transmit data from wearables are made of hard, inflexible materials that can restrict both the wearer’s natural movements and the accuracy of the data collected...

They played a key role in demonstrating the unusual behavior of carbon: Tim Schleif (left) and Joel Mieres Perez (right). Credit: © RUB, Marquard

Chemists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have found evidence that carbon atoms cannot only behave like particles but also like waves. This quantum-mechanical property is well-known for light particles such as electrons or hydrogen atoms. However, researchers have only rarely observed the wave-particle duality for heavy atoms, such as carbon. “Our result is one of few examples showing that carbon atoms can display quantum effects,” says Sander. Specifically, carbon atoms can tunnel. They thus overcome an energetic barrier, although they do not actually possess enough energy to do that.

Wolfram Sander explains the paradox: “It’s as though a tiger has ...