Importance of searching patent literature for technologists and researchers

Michael White points to an interesting article that shows the benefit of doing thorough patent search.

"US chemists celebrated the 4th of July with publication of one of the most sought after materials - one that emulates the incredible water-repellency and pollution-protective nature of the surface of the lotus leaf. Their research could lead to a new class of self-cleaning and protective materials for use in coatings for engineering structures from bridges and buildings to vehicles and planes and even new clothes that shrug off dirt.

Thomas McCarthy and Lichao Gao of the Polymer Science and Engineering Department, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, have taken a leaf out of the science history books to make their new material. The researchers have combined the work reported in a patent on water-repellency from 1945 with cheap commercial textiles to create what many materials scientists see as a Holy Grail in their field." from Institue, science, engineering, technology