The applications for this sort of material are pretty incredible. Rubbery materials can often tear/degrade easily; I can't tell you how many times I've torn some soft plastic and thought to myself, "Well, that's useless now..." This material has the potential to totally change that.<p>Also, did anyone think of Superman when reading this story? I couldn't help but be reminded that he, too, is healed by "the power of the yellow sun".
I thought the article was going to be on an older "self-healing" plastic at first. I seem to recall hearing about it in the early 2000s, but the furthest back I can find is 2007: <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=18841" rel="nofollow">http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.asp...</a><p>Suffice it to say, the new polymer is much more impressive.