news 2015

As new research provides more evidence that insecticides can harm bees, Hayley Dunning has been talking bees with Imperial expert Dr Richard Gill. Neonicotinoids are a class of insecticides applied to crops to target and kill pests. However, their use on flowering crops may inadvertently expose foraging bees to chemicals that affect their health.

A breakthrough in understanding the way in which crystals develop will have a major impact for the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries. Lancaster University chemists in collaboration with international colleagues have uncovered a 'Crystal Nuclei Breeding Factory' which, they say, will lead to a more effective and efficient development of quality chemical products.

Scientists are investigating a new therapy for the treatment of tendon injuries such as tennis elbow and Achilles tendinitis after gaining new insight into the condition. Tendon injuries (tendinopathies) are common, accounting for 30-50% of all sporting injuries, and are usually caused by repetitive strain or major trauma.

Major steps forward in the use of plants for renewable materials, energy and for building construction could soon arise, thanks to a key advance in understanding the structure of wood. The step forward follows research by the Universities of Warwick and Cambridge and the unexpected discovery of a previously unknown arrangement of molecules in plant cell walls.

New analysis shows that pollution from human activity in East Asia is having a negative effect on air quality in tropical rainforests thousands of kilometres away, and could harm the ozone layer if levels continue to increase. This work shows how quickly increasing pollution in southeast Asia can reach the Borneo rainforest, and even the upper atmosphere Neil Harris Researchers from the UK and Malaysia have detected a human fingerprint deep in the Borneo rainforest in Southeast Asia.

Tampons may not be an obvious scientific tool, but engineers from the University of Sheffield have been using them to identify where waste water from baths, washing machines, sinks and showers is polluting our rivers and streams. The natural, untreated cotton in tampons readily absorbs chemicals commonly used in toilet paper, laundry detergents and shampoos.

An atomically thin layer of water freezes at room temperature to form square ice with symmetry completely alien to water molecules, University of Manchester researchers have found. The breakthrough findings allow better understanding of the counterintuitive behaviour of water at the molecular scale and are important for development of more efficient technologies including filtration, desalination and distillation.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Natural chemical could help attract and kill pregnant malaria carrying mosquitoes Researchers have found for the first time that a naturally occurring chemical attracts pregnant malaria-transmitting mosquitoes - a discovery which could boost malaria control efforts.

A cancer drug could be made 50 times more effective by a chemical found in stinging nettles and ants, new research finds. Researchers at the University of Warwick found that when the chemical, Sodium Formate, is used in combination with a metal-based cancer treatment it can greatly increase its ability to shut down cancer cells.

Waste CO2 could be harnessed to produce useful materials - from furniture to trainer soles - using methods developed at Imperial College London. New research, published in ACS Catalysis , shows that waste carbon dioxide, captured from the emissions from a UK power station, can be used to produce polymers which are important in the production of materials called polyurethanes.

A unique study of frozen ice cores from the Tibetan Himalaya has shown that international agreements on phasing out the use of toxic persistent organic pollutants are working. The research paper in the leading American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology has been named as the journal's most read paper of 2014.

Scientists have discovered that the mineral jarosite breaks down organic compounds when it is flash-heated, with implications for Mars research. The destructive properties of some iron sulphates and perchlorate to organic matter may explain why current and previous missions have so far offered no conclusive evidence of organic matter preserved on Mars' surface.

Scientists report that chemicals that are not controlled by a United Nations treaty designed to protect the Ozone Layer are contributing to ozone depletion. In the new study, published today , the scientists also report the atmospheric abundance of one of these ‘very short-lived substances’ (VSLS) is growing rapidly.

A molecular chaperone has been found to inhibit a key stage in the development of Alzheimer's disease and break the toxic chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells, a new study shows. The research provides an effective basis for searching for candidate molecules that could be used to treat the condition.

A team of chemists, biochemists and mathematicians at the University of Bristol have published a paper Chemical Biology, which explores how protein structures are stabilised. There are many forces that hold together the three-dimensional, functional structures of proteins. Despite considerable effort, understanding of these forces is still quite rudimentary.

Chemists at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with colleagues at the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and Heriot-Watt University (HWU), can now follow chemical reactions in liquids with unprecedented, atomically resolved detail on sub-picosecond timescales (1 picosecond = 10-12s) - matching the time intervals between molecular collisions.

More efficient medical treatments could be developed thanks to a new method for triggering the rearrangement of chemical particles. The new method, developed at the University of Warwick, uses two 'parent' nanoparticles that are designed to interact only when in proximity to each other and trigger the release of drug molecules contained within both.

New research shows that the natural reactions taking place in some of the underground reservoirs used to store carbon dioxide may prevent carbon emissions from being transported to greater depths, where it may be less likely to leak into the atmosphere.