Our eyes may be windows on the world, but our fingertips put us in touch with it. To recreate this tactile sense, current technology relies on tiny motors and electricity. However, the bumps and buzzes they generate are not that good at mimicking the real thing. Today, scientists report evidence that our skin can perceive subtle differences in chemistry—findings they hope could provide the basis for a new way to control touch and better integrate it into applications, such as virtual reality.