I don't think that's really conclusive; surely they've taken it as far as they think they can in a reasonable amount of time, but (1) they've no real need to be

I don't think that's really conclusive; surely they've taken it as far as they think they can in a reasonable amount of time, but (1) they've no real need to be secretive--why not share it as soon as there's a concrete result?, and (2) sometimes the inventor of a technique can be too used to the old way of thinking to use their new technique to its full potential, and it takes less experienced eyes on it.