Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed ultra-flexible heterostructures made from 2D layers of van der Waals bonded materials. The heterostructures retain the optoelectronic properties of their constituent layers, but offer tunable mechanical properties which can include flexibility rivaling that of lipid bilayers. Applications for this technology include MEMS devices and flexible, stretchable, and conformal circuitry, including reconfigurable 2D devices and folded/curved/crumpled nanostructures.