The job to insulate the roof of the New Bodleian Library has just been completed – using the fleece of over 2,000 sheep. A giant quilt comprised of lengths of 250 mm thick fleece is now lying on top of the roof space, an area of nearly 500 metres square, above the Upper Reading Room of the library.

Wool skirts and silk ties may avoid those pricey trips to the dry-cleaner in the future and clean themselves, researchers in Australia and China suggest in a study scheduled for the Feb. 26 issue of ACS’ Chemistry of Materials, a bi-weekly journal. It reports development of a nanoparticle coating that could lead to “self-cleaning” wool and silk fabrics.