SAN FRANCISCO – There’s been a lot of hype about Aussie Jarryd Hayne’s acceptance into this season’s line-up of the San Francisco 49ers, so CDN thought we might join the pack.One piece of news he’ll perhaps be glad to hear is that researchers are trying to make the game safer with trials of sensor helmets that will give an early indication of possible concussion.

Researchers have created a chemical strip that changes colour on impact to measure the force of a collision. The material could be integrated into helmets for athletes – or soldiers.

The technology relies on tiny crystals whose colour is linked to underlying shapes, not to pigmentation. When a hard blow changes the shape of the crystals, the colour changes as well.