CAR-T therapy tested against tumour growth factor
A group in California, US, has armed therapeutic T cells with an antibody fragment that can neutralise a crucial growth factor made by tumour cells and change the tumour environment in a way that could help a patient’s immune system fight the cancer.
Demand for rare earth elements is growing, supply chains can't keep up
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified a growing mismatch between the accelerating use of rare earth elements across a range of technologies and the slow pace of global supply diversification.
Comment: Turquoise hydrogen
Blue and green hydrogen often dominate the conversation of low-carbon hydrogen. Meanwhile, turquoise hydrogen, sitting between blue and green, is quietly gaining momentum. This raises key questions: what is turquoise hydrogen, how mature are its technologies, and how close is it to commercial deployment?
New material could make carbon capture cheaper
Japanese researchers have created a new carbon material that could make carbon capture cheaper and more efficient. By carefully controlling how nitrogen atoms are arranged, they found certain structures capture CO2 better and release it at lower temperatures than other materials. One version works at temperatures below 60°C, meaning it could run on waste heat instead of costly energy.
Comment: Evolving purchasing priorities
Over the last decade, business procurement has evolved significantly. Previously focused on achieving the best outcome in terms of performance and cost, procurement is now an increasingly strategic corporate function, with any new purchase needing to aid business performance and meet increasingly stringent compliance, sustainability and governance targets. Recent developments in AI and data processing are accelerating this evolution.
AI-designed proteins turned into molecular switches
An international team has used AI to create smart proteins that switch on when they detect a chosen target and can operate inside living bacterial cells. The research opens the way to a new generation of low-cost biosensors for medicine, environmental monitoring and biotechnology.
EU briefs - news from the chemistry industry in Europe
Read the news in brief from the EU from C&I Magazine Issue 5 2026.
Business digest: Chemistry industry updates
The latest business digest for C&I Issue 5 2026 with all the latest mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry.
Science innovation: Which countries are fulfilling their potential?
Only 10% of countries worldwide are fulfilling their technological potential, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). In a recent report, Innovation Capabilities Outlook (ICO), WIPO has analysed 2.5bn data points to show how countries can better leverage their science, technology, entrepreneurship and production capacity to generate significant increases in the kinds of innovations that benefit the world.
Comment: Particles and EU Law
Let’s talk about… dust – fine particles that are carried in the air – and how it is or should be regulated under European Union rules. Putting dust together with legal considerations is not the most obvious flex but we can simplify it to this: on the assumption that dust gets into our lungs, does it cause an adverse effect such the EU regulator needs to step in?