Scientists have found a way to pull in water from the air around us in a groundbreaking discovery that could have huge implications for the developing world.

Using inspiration from the bumpy shells of Namib beetles, researchers were able to cause drops to grow six times faster by copying the geometry of the shell, according to a BBC report.

The research team was able to combine this with plant techniques to grow drops even larger the hotter it got, which could greatly improve water harvesting, as well as provide another method of green electricity generation.

It’s not the first time scientists have learned from the Namib beetle, which uses its shell to collect what little moisture there is in the arid desert environments in which it lives. Now, scientists know that the back of the beetle is the key to how it survives these harsh climates and gets water, and the finding could have big implications for science.

Researchers combined these insights with what they learned about cactus spines, which also have bumpy surfaces that guide drops of water, growing six times more quickly on the surface and allowing the plant to collect a greater volume of water.

Scientists had assumed that larger droplets would form on colder surfaces, but this experiment showed that that wasn’t the case. This could greatly benefit hot and dry environments where water evaporates before it can be collected, and it could have implications for power generation.