Saving the banana
Confirmation that a banana-killing fungus has invaded the Americas has put the world’s banana supply in jeopardy. Now geneticists are in a race against time to save the beloved fruit, reports Jasmin Fox-Skelly
Wildfire and water
Forests perform an often overlooked service – that of drinking water treatment. But as wildfires become more frequent and extreme, as currently in Australia, researchers are helping utility companies to fireproof drinking water treatment plants, XiaoZhi Lim reports
Environment matters
For the first time in its 14-year history, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global risks report, published in January 2020, finds that environmental factors are the main threats to world stability in the next 10 years. In the shorter term, geopolitical and economic turmoil and cyberattacks also pose a threat.
Probiotic hope for PD
A type of bacteria already in use as a probiotic supplement could slow – and even reverse – the build-up of a protein associated with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), new research suggests. The work paves the way for studies into the effectiveness of probiotics in PD, the second most prevalent neurological disorder.
Biomedical
Cdk profiling via a photoaffinity displacement assay - Groups from Strathclyde, GlaxoSmithKline and Cellzome have combined to find a photoaffinity probe that crosslinked well to cyclin dependent kinases 2, 7, and 9 (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., doi: anie.201906321).
Stepping up cyber security
Cyber-criminals pose numerous threats to chemical companies, the most serious of which is arguably ransomware attacks
Applied chemistry
Sustainable polycarbonate adhesives with thermoresponsive properties - Pressure sensitive adhesives are ubiquitous in commodity products such as tapes, bandages, labels, packaging and insulation.
Organic Chemistry
Bidirectional asymmetric synthesis with enhanced enantioselectivity - In bidirectional synthesis, two ends of a substrate contain the same functional groups, and consequently can undergo a one-pot sequence of two identical reactions.
Cutting corners?
Alexios Chronis, from CSols, examines if it is possible to cut corners when adopting a new informatics implementation project