A group of scientists is hoping to transform fast food waste oil into a high-tech polymer and create a “smart roof coating system” which will help to insulate homes. The coating reacts to the environment by undergoing a “phase change” at a certain temperature, switching from heat-absorbing to heat-reflecting. The new roof coating reportedly “showed a decrease between 50 and 80 percent in warm weather when compared to regular asphalt shingles, and an increase in roof temperature by 80 percent in cold weather.”