[jld]

> As for what the world is supposed to do with this new information, Hu admits that it’s “not going to replace the way we manufacture plastic.” But the wombat’s strategy could help engineers design better ways to shape valuable or sensitive materials, he says.

I am amused that every researcher is asked to defend how their research will help industry, as if there is no value in the pursuit of knowledge that has no known application. No one starts studying wombat poop because they are hoping that they can someday make some industrial process 1% more efficient.