(Rutgers University) What if, instead of turning up the thermostat, you could warm up with high-tech, flexible patches sewn into your clothes — while significantly reducing your electric bill and carbon footprint? Engineers at Rutgers and Oregon State University have found a cost-effective way to make thin, durable heating patches by using intense pulses of light to fuse tiny silver wires with polyester. Their heating performance is nearly 70 percent higher than similar patches created by other researchers, according to a study in Scientific Reports.