The conference also heard that good bacteria growing in dental plaque could help fight off bugs that cause gum disease and tooth decay if they are given a competitive edge.
Yet without it, not only the energy industry, but also domestic aviation, railways, public buildings and other legacies of the Soviet Union's industrialisation will decay with increasing speed, putting the bits of Russian industry that are trying to modernise at even more of a competitive disadvantage than the one that they face already.