Sally Ramsey, founder of Ecology Coatings, jerry-rigged an apparatus in her lab to show a chemical company representative how rapidly one of Ecology's coatings dries when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Lab accident at Ecology Coatings leads to method of making paper and other objects that are impervious to water. Images: Ecology's nanospray Michael Kanellos is editor at large at CNET News.com, where ...