In a process the researchers describe in articles published today in Science and Advanced Materials, they used a silicon needle with a tip about ten thousand times smaller than an ant to sculpt a polymer material known as polyphthalaldehyde.

FORBES: IBM Draws A World Map 1000 Times Smaller Than A Grain Of Sand

Additionally, in order to reduce the time to develop and deploy advanced materials, a Materials Genome Initiative is being launched today, and the National Science and Technology Council has released a white paper on that effort.

WHITEHOUSE: Ensuring American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing

In his speech, Mr Osborne set out seven further areas where the government thinks Britain is a world leader and can and must go further: computing, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine, agricultural science, energy storage, robotics and advanced materials including nanotechnology.

BBC: Space spending to be increased by ?60m a year