There are a hell of a lot of copper wires and cables in an airplane, what with all the systems that need controlling and monitoring in realtime. But that means faultfinding can be a real bitch – plus all that metal weighs a fair bit. Research at Texas A&M University could overcome these problems, by developing a special switch that could enable engineers to replace the wires with optical fibres, making for faster operations with less bulk and weight, and easier maintenance.