Yep that's there, and when I was in school some grads were doing research on porous wing skins that pump air through for boundary layer control using very small holes. It made a huge difference in the flow adhesion at high angles of attack, allowing a lower drag in cruise. As usual, we are never short on ideas like this because they spring naturally from fundamentals, it's more that we are short on R&D investment. This is an area that will offer serious improvements in aircraft design in the next few decades. The 787 for example has high deflection composite wings that bend a lot to smooth out the ride. That's a comfort application, but changing wing shapes can greatly increase fuel efficiency and cruising range.