news 2012

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a method to visualise gold on the nanoscale by using a special probe beam to image 20 atoms of gold bound together to make a cluster. The research is published today (26 July 2012) in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Nanoscale. Physicists have theorised for many years how atoms of gold and other elements would be arranged and ten years ago the structure of a 20-atom tetrahedral pyramid was proposed by scientists in the US.

Research at Oxford University that led to a new type of sensor enabling people with diabetes to easily and accurately monitor their own blood sugar (glucose) levels has been celebrated with the unveiling of a special plaque. The National Chemical Landmark plaque from the Royal Society of Chemistry [ RSC ] recognises work by Allen Hill, Tony Cass , and Graham Davis at Oxford's Department of Chemistry.

Image: Prostate duct with blue/grey staining showing the presence of miR-27a in cells lining the duct. Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered a molecule that plays an important role in driving prostate cancer growth, and could be a target for new therapies. About 36,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK, making it the most common cancer in men.

The first unequivocal evidence that humans in prehistoric Saharan Africa used cattle for their milk nearly 7,000 years ago is described in research by an international team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, UK, published today in Nature. By analysing fatty acids extracted from unglazed pottery excavated from an archaeological site in Libya, the researchers showed that dairy fats were processed in the vessels.

Lifestyle advice given by doctors to men diagnosed with infertility should be radically overhauled according to research published today (Wednesday). Current guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence 1 advise doctors to warn infertile men about the dangers of smoking, alcohol consumption and recreational drug use, as well as the risks of being overweight and wearing tight underwear.

Chemists at UCL have discovered a new property of flames, which allows them to control reactions at a solid surface in a flame and opens up a whole new field of chemical innovation. Published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, authors of the new study have discovered their previous understanding of how flames interact with a solid surface was mistaken.

Computer chips of a type more commonly found in games consoles have been used by scientists at the University of Bristol to reveal how the flu virus resists anti-flu drugs such as Relenza and Tamiflu. Professor Adrian Mulholland and Christopher Woods from Bristol's School of Chemistry , together with colleagues in Thailand, used graphics processing units (GPUs) to simulate the molecular processes that take place when these drugs are used to treat the H1N1-2009 strain of influenza - commonly known as 'swine flu'.

A mathematician from the University of Bristol has teamed up with a biologist from the University of Edinburgh to address a major problem in molecular biology. Clive Bowsher, Lecturer at the School of Mathematics, and Professor Peter Swain at Synthetic and Systems Biology Edinburgh co-authored a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing how to separate 'signal' from 'noise' when studying the mechanisms of living cells.

Perfumed plants allure beneficial bacteria to their roots Scientists have discovered maize crops emit chemical signals to attract growth promoting microbes to their roots which boosts performance and could combat world food shortages. The groundbreaking research – the first chemical signal that has been shown to attract the beneficial bacteria – could reduce agricultural reliance on fertilisers and pesticides across the globe.

Chemists and biologists from the University of Bristol have finally cracked one of the longest standing chemical mysteries. In a paper published today in PNAS, the team demonstrate exactly how an unusual class of compounds known as tropolones are synthesised in fungi. In 1942, an 'unidentifiable' aromatic compound known as stipitatic acid was first isolated from fungi.

Scientists have produced a previously unseen uranium molecule, in a move that could improve clean-up of nuclear waste. The distinctive butterfly-shaped compound is similar to radioactive molecules that scientists had proposed to be key components of nuclear waste. However, these were thought too unstable to exist for long.

By Simon Levey Thursday 8 March 2012 A little bit of lubrication could make a big energy saving when manufacturing sustainable biofuels and bio-chemicals from timber, according to research published in the journal Green Chemistry this month. Scientists at Imperial College London have demonstrated that a key part of biomass processing could be made 80 per cent more energy-efficient by taking advantage of the slippery properties of fluids called ionic solvents.

Physicists have carried out detailed spectroscopic measurements of antimatter. The team, part of the ALPHA collaboration at CERN, in Geneva, had previously managed to trap antihydrogen atoms - the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen - routinely for long periods of time. The new findings build on this research to help further understanding of the origins of the Universe.

Dione, one of Saturn's icy moons, has a weak exosphere which includes molecules of oxygen, according to new findings from the Cassini-Huygens mission. The international mission made the discovery using combined data from one of Cassini's instruments, called CAPS (Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), which includes a sensor designed and built at UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

The European Space Agency's Planck mission with the support of University astronomers has unveiled more surprises about our Galaxy, bringing scientists closer to being able to understand the structure of the Universe. The results include previously unknown clouds of cold gas, and a mysterious haze of microwave emission near the centre of the Galaxy.

PA 51/12 Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite. The team of immunologists led by Amir Ghaem-Maghami and Professor Farouk Shakib in the University's School of Molecular Medical Sciences have identified the molecule DC-SIGN which appears to play a role in damping down the body's allergic response to the house dust mite.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have measured and identified for the first time the stress and strain shear modulus and internal friction of graphene sheets. The research, in collaboration with the US Office of Naval Research , is published in Nano Letters . Graphene is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice.

Experts at the University of Glasgow have discovered how plants survive the harmful rays of the sun. UV-B wavelengths are the most powerful part of the daylight spectrum and are potentially damaging both to humans and plants. However, plants rarely show signs of damage because they have evolved a way of protecting themselves from the sun's harmful rays by making their own chemical sunscreen in their leaves.

Research by the University of Liverpool has found that the redder ladybirds more poisonous. The study by the Universities of Liverpool and Exeter reveals that variation in colour is directly linked to diet in early life, with better-fed ladybirds being more visible and more deadly. Ecologists have long assumed that there are no individual differences between the warning signals of animals of the same species.

In a paper just published , a team of University of Bristol scientists explores whether new models or concepts are needed to tackle one of the 'grand challenges' of chemical biology: understanding enzyme catalysis. On a microscopic scale, nearly all the machinery that keeps our cells working involves chemical reactions of some sort and these reactions wouldn't happen without enzymes - natural catalysts which make reactions happen very quickly, fast enough for life to be possible.