Man lived in this area before the last desertification or before the drastic climatic changes ended with the hot dry conditions and development of deserts.

BBC: Desert finds challenge horse taming ideas

His research has resulted in the development of the first self-cleaning, dry adhesive and a number of gecko-like robots, including Stickybot, a mechanized lizard developed by Stanford University engineers that can climb up windows and walls using its own adhesive appendages.

CNN: Snails inspire design for state-of-the-art robots

Dr Weiss observes that the development of irrigation coincides with a second cool, dry period, some 8, 200 years ago.

ECONOMIST: Climate change and civilisation

Nonetheless, Berry says that most companies are "making solid progress" in development and clinical trials and that Big Pharma, with pipelines running dry and blockbuster drugs coming off-patent, needs biotech partners more than ever.

FORBES: Will Biotech Boom Again?