Dr Molfino plans to employ the technology used to etch computer chips to create similar surfaces on her graspers.

ECONOMIST: Automated tailoring comes closer

The boundaries between the materials create reflective surfaces within the crystal.

ECONOMIST: Microelectronics grows up

Dr Stefanov and his colleagues (or, rather, their computers) looked for the boundaries between densely developed areas, which reflect a lot of light because of all the edges and flat surfaces that people like to create, and those with more vegetation, which appear dark by comparison, as nature prefers curves.

ECONOMIST: Urban geography