Beetle-based Brighton bunch boasts better balls

A Brighton company that says it was inspired by an African desert beetle says it's come up with a substance that can make materials, such as the surface of soccer balls, repel water, dirt, mud and ice, the Boston Business Journal reports.

The NBD in NBD Nanotechnologies stands for for "Namib Beetle Design:"

[O]ur company was inspired by the Namib Desert Beetle, an insect that is able to harvest fog in the desert by alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic regimes on its back. This beetle has evolved to drink 12% of its weight in water via mastering surface wettability to thrive in the desert.