Rome wasn’t built in a day but its construction legacy has lasted through the ages—now mega-corporations are stepping up to fund the development of new-age concrete.

Ancient Rome’s Colosseum, and many other structures have survived two millennia and in January this year a paper published in Science Advances revealed the secret—“self-healing” concrete. 

MIT professor of civil and environmental engineering Admir Masic worked on the study with investigators from Harvard University, and laboratories in Italy and Switzerland.