Origami is capable of turning a simple sheet of paper into a
pretty paper crane, but the principles behind the paper-folding art can also be
applied to making a microfluidic device for a blood test, or for storing a
satellite's solar panel in a rocket’s cargo bay.
A team of University of Pennsylvania researchers is turning
kirigami, a related art form that allows the paper to be cut, into a technique
that can be applied equally to structures on those vastly divergent length
scales.