science wire

Chemistry in schools comes alive through smartphones
A unique poster that brings flaming elements to life through a smartphone app has been distributed to schools across the UK and further afield as part of the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge, using technology developed in the University's Department of Engineering.

Food crops damaged by pollution crossing continents
Man-made air pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year, a new study has found. The research, led by the University of Leeds and co-authored by the University of York, shows for the first time the extent of the Northern Hemisphere's intercontinental crop losses caused by ozone - a chemical partly produced by fossil fuels.

Supermaterial goes superpermeable
Wonder material graphene has revealed another of its extraordinary properties - University of Manchester researchers have found that it is superpermeable with respect to water. Graphene is one of the wonders of the science world, with the potential to create foldaway mobile phones, wallpaper-thin lighting panels and the next generation of aircraft.

Scientists produce world’s first magnetic soap
A University of Bristol team has dissolved iron in liquid surfactant to create a soap that can be controlled by magnets. The discovery could be used to create cleaning products that can be removed after application and used in the recovery of oil spills at sea Scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a soap, composed of iron rich salts dissolved in water, that responds to a magnetic field when placed in solution.

Star Organic Chemist Appointed
The University of Manchester is pleased to announce that Professor David Leigh FRS, one of the world's foremost organic chemists, will be joining the School of Chemistry later in the year.

Small things, big thinking
Using an electron microscope it's possible for the human eye to see in minute detail the foot of the fruit fly - an appendage that is just about the same width as a human hair.

The Waters Chair of Mass Spectrometry at the Michael Barber Centre
The University of Manchester and Waters Corporation have announced the creation of the Waters Chair of Mass Spectrometry focusing on the many fields of research that utilise mass spectrometry technology.

Naked Scientists host inaugural Science Night on Radio 5 Live
Find out if a chocolate teapot really is useless and whether bread does always land butter-side down, when Chris Smith hosts the inaugural Science Night on Radio 5 Live.

Balancing the womb
The study by academics at the University of Bristol suggests a new mechanism by which the level of myosin phosphorylation is regulated in the pregnant uterus.  The researchers, Claire Hudson and Prof

Learning left from right
Pop psychology assertions about left-brain/right-brain differences are pretty much tosh. Our personalities are not dominated by a battle between the creative skills residing in one half of the brain competing with the hard reasoning in the other. But that's not to say there aren't any differences between the left and right sides of our brains.

Award success for chemical engineers
19 Dec 2011 Two University of Manchester academics have received awards for the quality of their research into sustainable chemical engineering.

Mystery of car battery's current solved
Chemists have solved the 150 year-old mystery of what gives the lead-acid battery, found under the bonnet of most cars, its unique ability to deliver a surge of current.

Chemists find new way to break amide bonds
Researchers in the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry have found a way to accelerate the breakdown of amide bonds. The work, published in Angewandte Chemie, features as the lead highlight in the American Chemical Society's C&ENews this week.

Researcher awarded ¤500,000 as part of European project to enable effective climate policy
Dr Simon O'Doherty of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry has been awarded ¤500,000 as part of InGOS, a European project to monitor emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases and improve the observational infrastructure.

Materials which expand and contract like muscles could be used as gas sensors
Materials which expand and contract like muscles could be used as gas sensors. Experts at the University of Sheffield have created an `artificial muscle´ reaction in materials that respond to chemical vapours, something that could pave the way for a new type of gas sensor.

Bright sparks awarded top marks for Cambridge Chemistry Challenge

‘Left-handed iron corkscrews’ point the way to new weapon in battle against superbugs like MRSA
Scientists at the University of Warwick have taken inspiration from corkscrew structures found in nature to develop a new weapon in the fight against infections like E-coli and MRSA.

Chemistry lovers take the Cambridge challenge
Students in the UK and around the world have put their chemistry skills to the test this year in a new competition supported by the Department of Chemistry.

Insect-inspired project could save energy and money
Insect-inspired project could save energy and money Spinning fibres the way silkworms do in nature could cut processing costs tenfold and reduce the energy used by more than 90 per cent compared to current techniques. Researchers at the University of Sheffield developed a method to analyse the energy used in the formation of fibres in natural silk and synthetic materials which has now been used to compare the unspun silk from a silkworm and the materials which make the strongest synthetic fibres available.

Scientist is 'Woman of the Future'

University of Manchester is part of consortium for new super microscope
The University of Manchester has been awarded part of a £4.5m grant because of the quality of its microscopy research.

Amplifier helps diamond spy on atoms
An ‘amplifier' molecule placed on the tip of a diamond could help scientists locate and identify individual atoms, Oxford University and Singapore scientists believe. The idea builds on ongoing work towards creating a diamond nanocrystal that can be used to detect an atom's incredibly weak magnetic field.

Parasite lives 'double life'
Scientists keen to understand and preserve global biodiversity have been quietly going about a mammoth task: indexing the world's known species.

Drug hunters aim to rebuild our bones
Researchers at The University of Nottingham are taking the first steps towards developing new drugs which could end the suffering of thousands of patients affected by osteoporosis or other bone diseases and fractures.

New protein structure expands nature’s repertoire of biomolecules
A new, artificial protein structure has been made by a team of University of Bristol chemists, biochemists and mathematicians, a paper reports this week.

Science Spectacular brings down the curtain on Manchester Science Festival
27 Oct 2011 This weekend sees a Spectacular end to the Manchester Science Festival, featuring drunken flies, glow in the dark ice cubes and many other weird and wonderful phenomena.

Research into energy flow features on the cover of Nature Chemistry
'Energy flow maps' which provide new insight into how chemical reactions work are described in a paper by David Glowacki and colleagues at the University of Bristol in the November.

New record voltage for organic solar cells opens the tech to consumer electronics
Search News & Events Search University of Warwick Search for people at Warwick Search Warwick Blogs Search past exam papers Search video Molecular Solar Ltd, a spinout company from the

Engineering team heads to Antarctica to explore hidden lake
Next week a British engineering team heads off to Antarctica for the first stage of an ambitious scientific mission to collect water and sediment samples from a lake buried beneath three kilometres of solid ice. This extraordinary research project, at the frontier of exploration, will yield new knowledge about the evolution of life on Earth and other planets, and will provide vital clues about the Earth's past climate.

Researchers receive over £12m in grants from the European Research Council
Tuesday 11 October 2011 by Colin Smith Nine Imperial College London researchers are beginning new projects this autumn, after winning more than €12 million in grants from the European Research Council (ERC).

It’s true! Scientists HAVE written the world’s smallest periodic table
The 2012 Guinness World Records has been published and confirms that scientists at The University of Nottingham hold the record for writing the world's smallest periodic table: http://tiny.cc/smalles

Improving photosynthesis to increase food and fuel production
PA 292/11 Producing enough sustainable and affordable food for a growing population and replacing diminishing fossil fuels will be one of the biggest challenges facing the world in the coming decades. Even a small change to the efficiency of photosynthesis could make a significant difference to yields.

Scientists and engineers create the ’perfect plastic’
Researchers at the University of Leeds and Durham University have solved a long-standing problem that could revolutionise the way new plastics are developed. The breakthrough will allow experts to create the 'perfect plastic' with specific uses and properties by using a high-tech 'recipe book'.

University announces major collaboration for the development of new materials
The University of Manchester and international chemical firm Solvay SA have announced a major collaboration to develop new materials for use in healthcare, sensors and as biocatalysts.

Scientists lay out plans for efficient solar energy harvesting
Solar power could be harvested more efficiently and transported over long distances using tiny molecular circuits, according to research inspired by new insights into natural photosynthesis.

Skin cancer expert to lead Paterson Institute
The University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK have appointed Professor Richard Marais to be the next director of the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester.

Yorkshire Food & Drink Fair
The Yorkshire Food & Drink Fair takes place this year from 11am to 6pm on Tuesday 27 September at Leeds Metropolitan University's City Campus.

Scientists get a taste and whiff of Manchester
Researchers from all over the world who study how the senses of smell and taste work have assembled in Manchester this week.

Polymer batteries for next-generation electronics
University of Leeds scientists have invented a new type of polymer gel that can be used to manufacture cheaper lithium batteries without compromising performance.

Chemistry at King’s
Reflecting its strength in life sciences, King's College London has introduced a new undergraduate degree to its portfolio – MSci Chemistry with Biomedicine – the only programme of its kind in the UK.

Field of Jeans comes to Sheffield city centre
Field of Jeans comes to Sheffield city centre An exhibition with a difference is coming to Sheffield´s Peace Gardens and Winter Gardens next week (12-13 September 2011) to showcase the world&

Tiny test tubes and getting to grips with quantum gravity
A mathematician working on a new description of gravity and a scientist producing microscopic materials for the next generation of electronic devices are to receive a prestigious international grant that supports research stars of the future. Mathematician Kirill Krasnov and chemist Andrei Khlobystov, of The University of Nottingham, have each been awarded a Starting Investigator Grant — totalling more than €2.5 million — from the European Research Council.

Manchester at the forefront of Green Chemical Technology
The University of Manchester is leading a £6.5m European project to develop the next generation of green chemical processes.

50,000th subscriber signs up for award winning science website
A team of 10 professional chemists and one unconventional film maker have just signed up the 50,000th subscriber to their award winning science website — the Periodic Table of Videos (PTOV), ww

Todd-Hamied Laboratory at the Department of Chemistry opens
The University of Cambridge's Department of Chemistry has today unveiled the new, cutting-edge Todd-Hamied Laboratory.