Chinese chemists have made sturdy nanotube sponges that can selectively absorb oil and volatile chemicals in preference to water. The sponges float on water and can absorb up almost 180 times their own weight in oil, giving them great potential for mopping up industrial spillages. 'We are very excited about the potential of our material,' says Anyuan Cao, who led the work at Peking University, Beijing, China. 'The sponges can absorb a variety of oils - from volatile solvents to thick and sticky oil - but they are also elastic and robust. They can be wrung out like towels and re-used,...