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Imperial has co-developed the first synthetic membrane to separate crude oil and crude oil fractions, which could help reduce carbon emissions. Crude oil is refined to create fuels like diesel, petrol and jet fuel, as well as lubricants and plastics. However, the processes used to create these byproducts are a major source of pollutants to the air, water, and soil.

Cardiff University scientists have devised a new way of making reactions up to 70 times faster by using state-of-the-art equipment to spin chemicals around. They found that efficient mixing within a chemical reaction could be achieved by spinning chemicals and catalysts around in a small tube, causing the reactions to happen much quicker.

Research explains how a unicellular marine organism generates light as a response to mechanical stimulation, lighting up breaking waves at night. Our findings show how elegant decision-making can be on a single-cell level Maziyar Jalaal Every few years, a bloom of microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates transforms the coasts around the world by endowing breaking waves with an eerie blue glow.

Researchers have created a fast-charging battery prototype that uses sodium instead of lithium, potentially leading to more sustainable batteries. The prototype is one of the first to successfully use sodium in an organic battery that can be quickly charged and discharged hundreds of times without losing any capacity.

A faster, more efficient way of recycling plant-based "bioplastics? has been developed by a team of scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Bath. The team has shown how their chemical recycling method not only speeds up the process, it can also be converted into a new product - a biodegradable solvent - which can be sold for use in a wide variety of industries including cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Research reveals the extent of grey seals' maternal sacrifice Atlantic grey seals, the largest of the two seal species found around British, northern European and North American and Canadian shores, make a huge maternal sacrifice for their pups, new research has revealed. A collaboration of Scottish scientists, led by the University of Glasgow along with St Andrews and Strathclyde universities, has discovered new aspects of the fast that seal mothers go through for around 20 days while nursing their pups.

Extensive archaeological evidence shows that Early Iron Age agricultural communities settled in the coastal regions of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa from around AD 400. Although these farmers appear to have been in contact with local lowland hunter-gatherer groups, it was long assumed that they had little or no direct contact with hunter-gatherers already occupying the mountainous regions of Lesotho, as they did not settle the region until the 19 th century due to the unsuitability of the mountains for crop cultivation.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide an effective way of supporting the development of the next generation of high-performance rechargeable batteries, according to research led by the University of Birmingham. The technique, which was developed to detect the movement and deposition of sodium metal ions within a sodium battery, will enable faster evaluation of new battery materials, and help to accelerate this type of battery's route to market.

The development of pastoralism is known to have transformed human diets and societies in grasslands worldwide. Cattle-herding has been (and still is) the dominant way of life across the vast East African grasslands for thousands of years. This is indicated by numerous large and highly fragmentary animal bone assemblages found at archaeological sites across the region, which demonstrate the importance of cattle, sheep and goat to these ancient people.

Researchers are taking snapshots of chemical reactions in a trillionth of a second in the hope of developing the next generation of antibiotics and anti-viral drugs. Using state-of-the-art laser technology, scientists at Cardiff University and the Rosalind Franklin Institute are creating 'freeze frame movies' of chemical reactions, with a starring role for a specific enzyme that could be used to make new drugs that are active against viruses, such as COVID-19.

Experts have stressed an urgent need to find alternatives to wormers and anti-ectoparasitic products used widely on cattle, following the findings of a study just published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Researchers from the University of Sussex looked at a body of published evidence into the environmental impact of anthelmintics — products used as wormers and anti-parasitic agents and widely applied across the world.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One describe how researchers used VR to understand how common medications work on a molecular level. Many drugs are small molecules, and discovering new drugs involves finding molecules that bind to biological targets like proteins. In the study, users were able to use VR to 'step inside' proteins and manipulate them, and the drugs binding to them, in atomic detail, using interactive molecular dynamics simulations in VR (iMD-VR).

Dr Pierangelo Gobbo said: "Currently, the research field of bottom-up synthetic biology is trying to fill the gap between biology and chemistry to better understand how the non-living becomes alive. To do this, attempts have been made to construct what are called protocells. These are cell-like entities created from scratch using only a limited toolbox of molecules, materials, and chemical reactions.

A technique based on the principles of MRI and NMR has allowed researchers to observe not only how next-generation batteries for large-scale energy storage work, but also how they fail, which will assist in the development of strategies to extend battery lifetimes in support of the transition to a zero-carbon future.

A new bendable supercapacitor made from graphene, which charges quickly and safely stores a record-high level of energy for use over a long period, has been developed and demonstrated by UCL and Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers. While at the proof-of-concept stage, it shows enormous potential as a portable power supply in several practical applications including electric vehicles, phones and wearable technology.

Materials that can be precisely designed at the nanoscale could allow 'supercapacitors' to store more energy while maintaining their fast charge time. Researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Imperial College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology performed simulations and experiments that show special electrode materials could be precisely engineered to produce supercapacitors that charge quickly and store more energy.

Oxford University scientist have discovered the molecular 'first responder' which detects disturbances in the flow of blood through the arteries, and responds by encouraging the formation of plaques which can lead to serious problems, including heart attack, stroke and even death. The study, published in the journal  Nature , found that mice without this molecule in its right shape don't have clogged arteries, even when they eat an unhealthy high fat diet.

As smokers know all too well, nicotine is highly addictive. It's hard to quit smoking, a habit that claims the lives of more than seven million people each year. Smoking tobacco delivers nicotine to the neuroreceptors responsible for addiction, affecting the nervous system and causing addiction. A new study, led by scientists from the University of Bristol, into the molecular interactions involved has revealed how these neuroreceptors respond to nicotine.

Chemists have found a new use for the waste product of nuclear power - transforming an unused stockpile into a versatile compound which could be used to create valuable commodity chemicals as well as new energy sources. Depleted uranium (DU) is a radioactive by-product from the process used to create nuclear energy.

From the synthesis of drugs to the generation of plastics, catalysts - substances that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed - are the backbone of many industrial processes. Catalysts come in many forms such as inorganic nanoparticles, organic liquids and aqueous enzymes, and can be linked to solid surfaces to increase their performance.