Scientists from the University of Michigan have created a material that can repair itself after being damaged, and its use could be widespread.

This resin-like material begins to cure immediately upon exposure to oxygen and that's the simplest explanation of the principles of its functioning.

In order to test it, the researchers put it between two layers of the wall. In case of wall puncturing, the resin fills the hole in the first few seconds until it starts to react with oxygen which is followed by immediate curing.

Research and development was funded by NASA and the results are published in ACS Macro Letters of American Chemical Society.

It is alleged that the material can be used in making the walls of the fuel tank, the fuselage or a plane or spacecraft. Basically, these materials have been developed to be used in objects which is under pressure in order to prevent its penetration and consequently leakage of fuel or air.

In the research video, the team showed a material that was a single millimeter thick, but it could be produced just tens of microns wide - the width of a few human red blood cells. This could potentially allow it to have a wide range of applications on Earth as well. It could one day make for safer airplane hulls, fuel tanks, or even creepy future robot skins that can heal themselves, Terminator-style.