Electronics in human body could help improve and extend life, but electronics and body fluid do not mix. Biocompatible gel may hold the key to our cyborg future. The biggest challenge to implanting complicated electronics within ourselves is our own immune system's tendency to reject foreign bodies.

A scientist at MIT has developed a strong, flexible, stretchy and extremely sticky plastic gel that will provide an interface between these two very incompatible materials. The rubbery material, mostly composed of water, is designed to bond strongly to surfaces such as gold, titanium, aluminum, silicon, glass, and ceramic, making it possible to embed electronics and become a crucial building block of the medecine of the future.

Electronics coated in hydrogel may be used not just on the surface of the skin but also inside the body—for example, as glucose sensors or even neural probes.