WASHINGTON -- Scientists said they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible.

Researchers said they have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects; previously, they only had been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.

The new work moves scientists a step closer to hiding people and objects from visible light, which could have broad applications, including military ones.