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Rubbery circuits possible from gold wire

BALTIMORE, March 15 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers said Monday they have made electronic circuits that can stretch like rubber, possibly creating wearable electronics or artificial nerves.

. The Johns Hopkins University scientists, reporting in the online journal Nature Science Update, said the new circuits could withstand vigorous twisting and stretching that destroys traditional electronics made from metals or silicon.

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Earlier versions of bendable electronics tended to break if they were deformed too much.

The researchers built the rubbery circuits from of several squashed, but extendable, gold wires 20 times thinner than a human hair and wrapped in a springy polymer. The resulting wire can be stretched to more than half of its initial length without breaking or losing electrical conductivity.

Such wiring could be woven into stretchy sports clothing connected to sensors that monitor athletic performance. Rubbery electrodes made from biocompatible materials might also be attached to a beating heart and used to sense developing problems.

Flexible electronics also might make rubbery needles that could be safer and more reliable than those currently used to treat the brains of Parkinson's disease patients, whose tremors are soothed by electrical stimulation.

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