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NotSanguine writes:

The BBC is reporting about a new type of vibration sensor that is sensitive enough to detect minute vibrations such as blood flow and speech.

The new type of sensor uses a thin layer of platinum embedded on a polymer that mimics sense organs present in the joints of some spiders. Vibrations cause cracks in the platinum to open and close, which can be detected and quantified. I can see many applications for such sensors, including ultra-sensitive body activity sensors, vibration detection in highly sensitive experimental gear, and the ever popular choice, spy equipment. The research is presented in an article published recently in Nature.

From the BBC News article:

Speaking to BBC News, Prof Mansoo Choi said the project began two years ago, when one of his colleagues at Seoul National University read a paper in the same journal.

It described how a particular species of wandering spider communicates with potential mates, metres away on the same plant, by scratching the leaves and "hearing" the vibrations. The organ in the spiders' legs that detects these incredibly faint vibrations is made up of a series of slits. It is called the "lyriform organ" because the slits vary in length, like the strings of a lyre. "We tried to mimic the cracked shape of the organ," Prof Choi said.