Microbubbles to pop cancer
Microbubbles with targeting antibodies have been used to deliver cancer drugs directly to the site of a tumour in mice. Once there, the microbubbles were popped by a pulse of ultrasound, so releasing their cargo of cancer cell killing compounds. Read this and more articles in C&I magazine.
Nitrogen-fixing microbes
To feed a growing world without an accompanying increase in greenhouse gas emissions, microbes may soon step up as a new source of protein. Microbial protein promises huge increases in efficiency of land and resource use, compared with traditional meat or plant protein – in particular, that of nitrogen use. Read this and more articles in C&I magazine.
Fly-by-moth drone
US researchers have created an autonomous drone that can navigate towards smells using an antenna from a moth. In future, the moth antenna could be genetically hacked to sense other smells, say the researchers, such as the volatile chemicals from an unexploded improvised explosive device, or a gas leak. Read this article and more from C&I Magazine.
Bendy zinc battery
Researchers have developed a flexible, rechargeable zinc-based battery with much higher capacity than lithium batteries. The team says another advantage is the battery can be made under ambient conditions and is printable and polymer-based. Read this and more exciting articles in C&I magazine.
Polymer imaging
Introducing an antioxidant to polymers before high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) avoids damage to the polymer samples and allows imaging to take place at room temperature. Read more in C&I magazine.
Covid-19 transmission study
Scientists analysing the first wave of the UK’s Covid-19 outbreak have produced the most comprehensive genomic analysis of transmission of any epidemic to date. Read this and more exciting chemistry-related articles in C&I magazine.
Detecting resistance
At least 700,000 people die every year from bacteria resistant to antibiotics, according to the World Health Organization. Now, a team at the University of Basel, Switzerland, has developed a way of rapidly detecting resistance in bacteria from patient samples. Read this and more articles in C&I magazine.
Memory switch molecule
A few doses of a small molecule turned back the hands of time – at least in the mouse brain. The study by University of California, San Francisco scientists found that the molecule reversed spatial memory gaps and improved the working memory of elderly mice. Read this article and more in C&I Magazine.
BASF focuses on circular economy
The research focus at German chemicals major BASF is very much on solutions for the circular economy under its new Circular Economy programme. Chairman Martin Brudermüller highlighted that by 2030, BASF aims to double its sales generated with solutions for the circular economy to €17bn – double the current figure. Read the article in C&I Magazine.
Hot chemotherapy
Anticancer drug doxorubicin could have broader utility in treating cancer when carried by iron oxide nanoparticles, researchers report.