news

Physics/Astronomy - Chemistry - 15.02
Unveiling new Galactic surprises
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.

Chemistry - Physics/Astronomy - 14.02
Shear stiffness and friction mechanics of single-layer graphene measured for the first time
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 .

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 3.02
Quantum biology and Ockham’s razor
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.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 30.01
MS drug prevented fatal heart condition in lab study
A drug used to treat multiple sclerosis may also be effective at preventing and reversing the leading cause of heart attack, a new study has found. Scientists found that Gilenya, a drug recently approved in the US for treating MS, was effective at reversing the symptoms of ventricular hypertrophy in mice.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 16.01
’Killer cells’ and diabetes
Killer T-cells in the human body which help protect us from disease can inadvertently destroy cells that produce insulin, new University research has uncovered. The study provides the first evidence of this mechanism in action and could offer new understanding of the cause of Type 1 diabetes.

Chemistry - Environmental Sciences - 13.01
Particle which could ‘cool the planet’
Scientists have shown that a new molecule in the earth's atmosphere has the potential to play a significant role in off-setting global warming by cooling the planet. In a breakthrough paper published in Science , researchers from The University of Manchester , The University of Bristol and Sandia National Laboratories report the potentially revolutionary effects of Criegee biradicals.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 3.01
Fighting the UK’s deadliest cancer
A promising line of attack against pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer is to be explored further at Cardiff, thanks to substantial new funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC). Pancreatitis can develop when the enzymes needed for digestion turn on the pancreas itself.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 20.12.2011
New insight into why locusts swarm
Learning is when you change your behaviour in the light of new experience, and this is what a locust needs to do when it gets caught up in the crowd." —Dr Swidbert Ott from the University of Cambridge Department of Zoology New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behaviour of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 23.11.2011
Spider know-how could cut future energy costs
Scientists at Oxford University and The University of Sheffield have demonstrated that natural silks are a thousand times more efficient than common plastics when it comes to forming fibres. A report of the research is published this week in the journal Advanced Materials .

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 14.11.2011
Transporter 5: solving an ancient mystery of the cell
The discovery by scientists in Cambridge and Alberta of a fifth adaptor protein - a tiny and vital component of many cells -will lay the foundations for a greater understanding of genetic disorders.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 17.10.2011
Faulty molecular switch can cause infertility or miscarriage
Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a ‘fertility switch', in a study published in Nature Medicine today. High levels of the protein are associated with infertility, while low levels make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage, the research has shown.

Chemistry - Medicine/Pharmacology - 6.10.2011
Understanding lethal synthesis
The chemical reaction which makes some poisonous plants so deadly has been described by researchers at the University of Bristol in a paper published today in Angewandte Chemie. Professor Adrian Mulholland in the School of Chemistr y and colleagues successfully analyzed why a particular toxic product originating from sodium fluoroacetate (a colourless salt used as a rat poison) is formed in an enzyme.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 20.09.2011
Organisms avoid carbon monoxide poisoning
Scientists have discovered how living organisms – including humans – avoid poisoning from carbon monoxide generated by natural cell processes. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that can prove fatal at high concentrations; the gas is most commonly associated with faulty domestic heating systems and car fumes, and is often referred to as ‘the silent killer'.

Chemistry - Physics/Astronomy - 16.08.2011
Carbon nanotube structures changed by ’attack’ from within, researchers discover
A team of researchers has shown for the first time that chemical reactions at the nano-level which change the structure of carbon nanotubes can be sparked by an ‘attack' from within. The discovery challenges previous scientific thinking that the internal surface of the hollow nanostructures is chemically unreactive, largely restricting their use to that of an inert container or a ‘nano-reactor' inside which other chemical reactions can take place.

Environmental Sciences - Chemistry - 5.08.2011
Molecular study shows unexpected effects of toxin
Scientists from the University of Birmingham studying the effects of the widely-used pesticide fenitrothion, have discovered unexpected cell damage in a common freshwater fish, roach, exposed to the toxin.