A world shaped by trees
Humans have changed the Earth in multiple ways, from the early hunters driving megafauna into extinction through to today’s global problems that have shifted seven out of nine Earth systems beyond the safe operating boundaries, including climate change, global cycles of phosphorus and nitrogen, chemical pollution, soil degradation, and most recently, ocean acidification.
Giant microbial threat
In this book, the author Thomas Levenson chronicles how the great scourges of the past, including cholera, childhood diseases such as measles and diphtheria, polio, smallpox and tuberculosis, were all eventually brought under control.
Tackling sugarcane crop weeds with UAVs
Sugarcane crops are threatened by weeds, which can reduce yield by as much as 83.0%, hurt crop quality - and harbour pests and diseases. Researchers in India have analysed the performance of a herbicide spraying system based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and how it compares to manual knapsack sprayers as a means of controlling weeds in this vital industrial crop.
Using liquid metals to reduce power electronics e-waste
New research is exploring how liquid metals could transform the way power electronics are built, making them more reliable and recyclable at end of life. The project, being co-run by Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult and the University of Cambridge, UK, focuses on developing a ‘floating’ internal structure within power electronic devices using liquid metals.
Researchers recreate shimmering Roman golden fabric
South Korean scientists have successfully recreated ancient sea silk – a rare, shimmering fibre prized since Roman times – using a clam farmed in modern coastal waters. They also discovered how sea silk’s golden colour emerges naturally from the internal alignment of its proteins.
Molecular pain secrets revealed
Molecular secrets of the cells responsible for severe nerve pain conditions have been decoded. These neurons activate in people suffering neuropathic pain such as in diabetic neuropathy and sometimes fibromyalgia, a long-term debilitating condition.
India focuses on biopharma
The latest Indian budget announcement marks a decisive shift in the country’s approach to pharmaceuticals by placing biopharma and biologic medicines at the centre of its healthcare and manufacturing strategy.
New immunotherapy approach identified
Australian researchers have designed antibodies that recognise a sugar found only on bacterial cells. They report that the lab-made antibody cleared a lethal bacterial infection in mice by homing in on the sugar and flagging the pathogen for destruction by the immune system. The team says the advance could underpin a new generation of immunotherapies for multidrug resistant hospital-acquired infections.