Millibot delivery
A soft, biodegradable millirobot inspired by the walking and grabbing capabilities of insects could hold promise for drug delivery. Roughly a finger width wide, the bots are made from gelatin from pig skin and iron oxide nanoparticles and can be guided by external magnetic fields (ACS App. Polym. Mater., 2022, 4, 5431).
Greener hydrogen
Green hydrogen – produced by water electrolysis using renewable energy – is the ultimate clean energy. But it depends on the availability of freshwater. Now Kevin Li and his team from the University of Melbourne, Australia, has designed a prototype electrolyser that can produce high purity hydrogen from moisture in the air without consuming liquid water.
Biomedical
Read the Biomedical highlight by Kevin Burgess, Texas A&M University, US in C&I Issue 10 2022.
Layering cybersecurity
Ransomware is not a new phenomenon, but the scale of attacks has accelerated both in sophistication and frequency. Ransomware incidents handled by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) increased from 326 in 2020 to 654 in 2021. Cybersecurity is a constant threat for businesses of all sizes, across all industries.
Applied chemistry
Read the latest Applied Chemistry highlights in C&I Magazine Issue 10 2022 written by Nigel P Freestone, University of Northampton, UK.
Bioplastics to rapidly expand
As bioplastic materials transition from being a ‘nice-to-have’ to materials with a very strong, viable business case, manufacturers are racing to keep up with demand. Brand-owners, striving to hit their decarbonisation targets by taking the initiative to transition to bioplastics, are generating a stronger brand-owner pull than ever before.
Travelling light
Future modes of transport won’t just rely on batteries. New types of fuel that are not derived from crude oil are increasingly in demand, Lou Reade reports
Restoring supply
The pharmaceutical industry fared relatively well through the pandemic but the sector has recently hit rockier ground. A supply chain shortage has come to light, leaving many patients struggling to access pain relief, oncology medication, antihistamines, hormone replacement therapy, anticlotting agents and other important drugs.
Signature for seafood
Most marine life contains an oxygen isotope signature that can be used to reveal geographical origins. This could be used as a universal fingerprint to help combat seafood fraud and stop illegal fishing, according to researchers in Australia.
Never forever chemicals
Dubbed ‘forever chemicals’, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic compounds with hydrogen atoms replaced by one or more fluorine atoms. The stability of the carbon-fluorine bond leads to environmental persistence and most people in the developed world have PFAS detectable in their blood. Exposure to such chemicals has been linked to cancer, reproductive, developmental, cardiovascular, liver and immunological effects.