The main cause of the delays and cost over-runs, he says, is a problem with the weight of the STOVL version that came to light in 2004.

ECONOMIST: The defence industry

This time they decided to go with the aluminium for the weight but are left with this problem of the scratches.

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Then, whether natural or artificial, the full weight of synthetic biology can be brought to bear on the problem.

ECONOMIST: Synthetic biology