An international team of scientists has developed a self-healing asphalt that can repair its own cracks without the need for human intervention, reducing the prevalence of potholes and extending ...

When a crack appears, these oils are released, softening the asphalt and enabling spontaneous repair. In the laboratory, this process allowed a micro-crack to be filled in less than an hour.

When the asphalt samples were subjected to conditions that caused micro-cracks to form in the bitumen, the spores within those cracks ruptured and released the sunflower oil. That oil rejuvenated ...