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Scientists Develop Stretchable Wearable Body Sensor Made From Chewing Gum

Scientists may have developed the next generation of flexible wearable fitness gadgets - using chewing gum.

Not just chewing gum, but chewing gum that has already been chewed.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba in Canada have demonstrated a highly flexible sensor made from the ‘used’ gum.

In order to make the sensor, an ordinary piece of gum was chewed for 30 minutes, cleaned with ethanol and left overnight before being added to a special sensing material made from carbon nanotubes.

The scientists found that the device that was created was able to carry on tracking body motion even when it was bent, folded and twisted.

Most sensors in wearable gadgets are extremely sensitive but are usually made from metal which means that they can stop working if they’re pulled or twisted too much.

Published in the journal American Chemical Society’s Applied Materials and Interfaces, the research also found that the sensors were capable of detecting moisture which means that they could potentially be used to track breathing.

Image credit: Jeremy Laffon/Solent News/REX Shutterstock