One of the most pleasurable things about buying gadgets and playing with them is the fact that they have smooth and shiny finishing. Take the iPod – any of the various models. When brand new, the mp3 player is sleek; a pleasure to look at and feel. The same goes for mobile phones and laptops.

Maybe I am being too OC about it, but I hate having my laptop cover scratched; and I am one unhappy camper if I see even the tiniest scratch on my mobile phone’s case or screen.

Enter a relatively new technology: self-healing coating. This is not really all that new, as the idea has been floating around for quite some time now. However, it has been mostly used for specialised purposes such as spacecraft. This time, a group of researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi has been playing around with self-healing coating for every day use.

How does it work? Just imagine getting a scratch on your weeks old laptop. Now I can imagine how much of a bummer that would be! With this self-healing coating, though, you just need to expose your laptop to UV rays and you can kiss the scratch away! The technology makes use of microscopic polyurethane rings containing protein which can be found in crab and shrimp shells. These proteins are activated by UV rays, which make them fuse together, getting rid of those unsightly scratches.

Sounds good to me, especially if I plan on keeping a gadget for quite some time!