Movers and shakers
Read all the latest news about the movers and shakers in the chemical industry for July 2022.
Do look up
Impacts of icy comets and various space rocks gave our planet much of the surface water and supplies of many of the chemically more versatile elements, such as iron and phosphorus, that life depends upon. Read the book review.
A chemist in the kitchen
It has been a pleasant surprise, then, to see a quirky novel about a chemist, with the word ‘chemistry’ in the title, would you believe, cause quite a stir and become a publishing success. Our chemist, Elizabeth Zott, embarks on research into the origins of life around 1950, when Marie Curie was the only female scientist anybody had ever heard of.
Faster EV battery testing
Advances in machine learning have allowed researchers to slash electric vehicle (EV) battery testing times by around 75%. The new method gains efficiency by halting battery cycling steps that are unpromising and by generating multiple battery configurations to be tested at the same time – an approach known as ‘asynchronous parallelisation’.
Biopolymer for crop seeds
Researchers have developed novel synthetic polymers to encourage microbes to form growth-promoting biofilms that could give crop seeds a head start.
Body of evidence
Our bodies carry a record of the manmade chemicals our daily lives expose us to. From Japan to Europe and the US, the same chemicals are repeatedly identified, Emma Davies reports – with plasticisers, flame retardants and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances common offenders.
Longevity diet
Increasingly, researchers are beginning to understand how diet can help both to increase lifespan and delay the diseases of ageing. So, could a simple food supplement boost longevity? Katrina Megget reports
Recyclable beer bottle
Amsterdam-based Avantium has signed an agreement with brewing giant Carlsberg to deliver a fixed volume of 100% plant-based polyethylene furanoate (PEF) for use in packaging applications – including a fully recyclable beer bottle.
Africa monkeypox vaccines
Several African countries that reported an outbreak of monkeypox virus are in the process of procuring adequate tests with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) as the viral disease spreads to non-endemic countries.
Nanodrill bug killer
Nanoscale ‘drills’ activated by visible light can kill bacteria, US researchers report. The molecular machines punch holes through bacterial membranes, killing them in just two minutes. The work offers a potential new strategy for fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.