Self-Healing Plastic Skin

An anonymous reader writes "Scientists have developed a form of plastic skin that can heal itself when damaged. The material relies on an underlying network of vessels — similar to blood capillaries — that carry a healing agent to areas on the material's surface that sustain damage. Unlike previous self-healing systems that relied on capsules of agent buried in the polymer and which became depleted after one use, the new system can respond to damage at the same point many times over."

Re:One ste closer...

[montyzooooma]

It's not a replacement for biological skin. According to the article it has applications in, eg, aeronautical applications where maintaining a seal is critical. You wouldn't consider an advance in paint or similar coatings to be immediately applicable to building a super body so you shouldn't be getting too excited by the use of the term "skin".

Re:Interesting concept

[theaceoffire]

This wouldn't work for windows unless you cracked them... If you have a crack, the veins would ooze out of em, sealing them. If you have a hole, the veins would just ooze... If it seals fast enough, it MIGHT be able to create some sort of covering, but that covering would have no veins inside it, meaning it can't repair itself again in the future, meaning that the window has to be replaced anyway. Nah, the real places you are going to see this being used, is in wires, tubes, and other items that don't have to worry about human skin or being toxic, where cracks occur through use and are relatively small... Also, just like for any major injury you need to see a doctor, if these wires get messed up badly, you will need a professional to fix em, or a mechanic to replace them. Oh, and back to the window thing...O.o what happens to the shards if they fall? Won't it ooze out all over the place from the veins that were in the piece?

Re:The Possibilities...

[Anonymous Coward]

AC because I'm lazy

Note that it is almost impossible to open a car door underwater before the cabin has filled w/ water because of the pressure differential.

For reference see Mythbusters.

Link to the researchers' site

[ajdecon]

...with more information, pictures, and a little video. Oh! And a link to a PDF of the actual article.

http://www.mvac.uiuc.edu/network.html [uiuc.edu]