Anyway, it would have made little sense for Mr Romney to build a big national network until he had clinched the nomination.

ECONOMIST: The Obama campaign

Moreover, the technology could be used in "superlenses" to see details "finer than the wavelength of visible light, " but Dolling is reportedly more interested in studying the effects of his discovery than attempting to build any mystical devices, which is probably for the good of mankind, anyway.

ENGADGET: Researchers develop metamaterial with negative refractive index

What is 4G wireless broadband anyway and how does it affect the wireless industry and the companies that build products and services for wireless?

FORBES: Everything You Need To Know About 4G Wireless In 2011

On the Russian side, better relations with America rest partly on Mr Putin's calculation that he needs a period of stability in foreign policy while he seeks to build up the Russian economy, and partly on his skill at extracting a quid for quos he had to concede anyway.

ECONOMIST: Europe and America