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Disposable paper electronic touch pads on their way - Researchers in the US and France have developed a paper-based electronic touch pad, opening the way for low cost, throwaway touch pads to be incorporated into anything from food packaging to disposable or sterile medical devices. The touch pads are made from metallised paper - paper coated in a layer of aluminium around 10nm thick, which is overlaid with a thin film of transparent polymer. Reference: A D Mazzeo et al, Adv. Mater., 2012, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201200137