The polymers return to a pre-defined shape when heated to a certain temperature, and, when damage is detected, an infrared laser sends light through the network to the damaged area, triggers the shape-memory, and commands the area to repair the crack or tear -- regaining up to 96 percent of its original strength.

ENGADGET: Shape-memory polymer knows when it's hurt, fixes itself

In 2002 two controlled human studies stunned intensive care specialists by finding that cooling the body temperature 7 degrees helped prevent brain damage in patients whose hearts had stopped and been restarted after cardiac arrest.

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In a thermal runaway, a battery releases energy in the form of heat, increasing the temperature of the battery and causing further damage.

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Better yet, it features a "hard drive heater" for startup and operation in freezing temperature and enough internal diagnostics to prevent damage in extreme cold and heat.

ENGADGET: Motorola's rugged ML910 laptop and MW810 mobile workstation

And using techniques obscured by the fire damage, Jefferys drastically downsized mechanisms for temperature compensation and friction reduction.

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