Thin, stretchy skin — like that of a pig or human — significantly lessens the underlying damage that occurs when it’s punctured. Pig skin even outperforms synthetic materials that are designed to mimic skin, a new study finds. Its special qualities, in particular its ability to dissipate the energy of a puncturing object, greatly reduce the damage to deeper tissues, researchers report.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have invented a new way to align 3D semiconductor chips by shining a laser through concentric metalenses patterned on the chips to produce a hologram. Their work, published in Nature Communications, can help to lower the cost of producing 2D semiconductor chips, enable 3D photonic and electronic chips, and may pave the way for other low-cost, compact sensors.