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Researchers at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) have demonstrated how genetically engineered enzymes can harness visible light to drive highly selective chemical reactions. This breakthrough could lead to cleaner, more efficient ways of making medicines and other important chemicals, all while reducing the need for harsh chemicals and harmful ultraviolet (UV) light.

Scientists have developed a new technique to screen engineered enzyme reactions, which could lead to faster and more efficient creation of medicines and sustainable chemicals. Enzymes are proteins that catalyse chemical reactions, turning one substance into another. In labs, scientists engineer these enzymes to perform specific tasks like the sustainable creation of medicines, and materials.

Ancient Egyptian mummified bodies smell 'woody,' 'spicy' and 'sweet', finds a new study led by researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana, revealing new details about mumification practices. The research, published in Journal of the American Chemical Society , is the first time that the smells of mummified bodies have been systematically studied combining a mix of instrumental and sensory techniques, including an electronic 'nose' and trained, human 'sniffers.' Nine ancient Egyptian mummified bodies were studied.

Tiny copper 'nano-flowers' have been attached to an artificial leaf to produce clean fuels and chemicals that are the backbone of modern energy and manufacturing. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley, developed a practical way to make hydrocarbons - molecules made of carbon and hydrogen - powered solely by the sun.

A landmark development led by researchers from the University of Glasgow could help create a new generation of diamond-based transistors for use in high-power electronics. Their new diamond transistor overcomes the limitations of previous developments in the technology to create a device much closer to being of practical use across a range of industries which rely on high power systems.

Scientists from The University of Manchester have developed a new material that could help reduce water pollution caused by harmful chemicals, such as from leftover medicines and hygiene products, that end up in rivers and lakes. Water pollution is one of the growing challenges of modern life. Many everyday items, from medications to cosmetics, leave behind residues that don't fully break down after use.

Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Chemistry at The University of Manchester have described a novel enzyme that could significantly change the way essential chemicals and medicines are made. Published today (15 January 2025) in Nature, t'his breakthrough centres on a process called nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S Ar), a class of transformation that is widely used across the chemical industries including pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.

Scientists have built an artificial motor capable of mimicking the natural mechanisms that power life. Just like the proteins in our muscles, which convert chemical energy into power to allow us to perform daily tasks, these tiny rotary motors use chemical energy to generate force, store energy, and perform tasks in a similar way.

Physicists are getting closer to controlling single-molecule chemical reactions - could this shape the future of pharmaceutical research? Controlling matter at the atomic level has taken a major step forward, thanks to groundbreaking nanotechnology research by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath.

Scientists are calling for changes to chemistry textbooks after discovering a fundamental aspect of structural organic chemistry has been incorrectly described for almost 100 years. The team from Cardiff University's School of Chemistry, dispute the long-held belief that alkyl groups - a chemical group consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged in a chain - donate electrons to other parts of a molecule.

An international team of researchers have developed a promising new drug which could help combat the spread of treatment-resistant malaria. The breakthrough development is the first to adapt an approach from cancer treatments to tackle malaria. It works by permanently disabling a protein that Plasmodium falciparum , one of the mosquito-borne parasites which spreads malaria, uses to duplicate itself inside the human body.

A breakthrough in material science could help deliver a new generation of affordable batteries, scientists say. An international team of researchers led by chemists from the University of Glasgow and battery testing experts at Helmholtz Institute Ulm have implemented a material made from chromium and selenium in a potassium-ion battery.

Manchester scientists unveil advanced materials that capture benzene in our atmosphere, tackling major health risk Scientists have developed a new material capable of capturing the harmful chemical benzene from the polluted air, offering a potential solution for tackling a major health and environment risk.

A breakthrough in quantum technology research could help realise a new generation of precise quantum sensors that can operate at room temperature. The research-carried out by an international team of researchers from the University of Glasgow, Imperial College London, and UNSW Sydney-shows how the quantum states of molecules can be controlled and sensitively detected under ambient conditions.

Scientists from The University of Manchester and the University of Warwick have developed a cutting-edge computational framework that enhances the safe freezing of medicines and vaccines. Treatments such as vaccines, fertility materials, blood donations, and cancer therapies often require rapid freezing to maintain their effectiveness.

A team from Imperial and BASF has won the Computers & Chemical Engineering Best Paper Award 2023 for AI techniques that could boost chemical R&D. The prestigious journal in process systems engineering rated the paper as the best of over 280 published that year. The process of trial and error in chemical R&D is costly, with some experiments taking weeks.

New research using neural networks, a form of brain-inspired AI, proposes a solution to the tough challenge of modelling the states of molecules. The research shows how the technique can help solve fundamental equations in complex molecular systems. This could lead to practical uses in the future, helping researchers to prototype new materials and chemical syntheses using computer simulation before trying to make them in the lab.

The largest "bluestone" at the heart of Stonehenge came from northern Scotland, not Wales, according to new research. Published in the journal Nature , the study analysed the age and chemistry of minerals from fragments of the Altar Stone. The findings show a remarkable similarity between the Old Red Sandstone of the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland and the Stonehenge Altar Stone.

Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet's largest component. The rocks will help unravel the mantle's role in the origins of life on Earth, the volcanic activity generated when it melts, and how it drives the global cycles of important elements such as carbon and hydrogen, according to the team which includes researchers from Cardiff University.

3D printing offers effective, scalable way to remove harmful chemicals Engineers have invented a new way to remove health-harming 'forever chemicals' from water - using 3D printing. Researchers at the University of Bath say their method, using ceramic-infused lattices (or 'monoliths'), removes at least 75% of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most common perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), from water, and could become an important tool in future efforts to eliminate the chemicals from water supplies.