Brain parasite could be used to treat neurological diseases
A parasite can ferry therapeutic proteins to brain cells, an international collaboration has demonstrated. A team at the University of Glasgow, UK, engineered the parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, so that it would deliver large proteins to human neurons.
Carbon capture: Why it's time to invest more in storing CO2
Current assumptions about how much CO2 can be stored underground using carbon capture technologies may be overly optimistic, unless there is more investment in the sector. Read the C&I news article.
US fine & speciality chemicals grow
US volumes of speciality and fine chemicals increased by 0.1% in July 2024, representing a 0.1% increase over July 2023 and above pre-Covid pandemic levels, according to Kevin Swift, MD of Swift Economics.
New approaches tackle antibiotics
This summer the national funding agency UKRI announced it will invest almost £5m in eight new networks to tackle the problem of increasing resistance to antibiotics. They will include specialists in agriculture, food, the environment, human and animal medicine, policy and behavioural studies, engineering and social science.
Boom in UK biotech investment
Investment in the UK’s life sciences and biotech sector enjoyed its best H1 in 2024 since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA). At £1.89bn, the H1 investment total also exceeded the total raised in the whole of 2023, 1.8bn.
New wood for carbon capture
A new type of wood has been uncovered that could be especially efficient at carbon storage. The wood was found in tulip trees (Liriodendron), fast-growing trees that are popular in large gardens and parks for their distinctive flowers.
Genomics project to spur new drugs
A £28m UK programme seeks to advance understanding of how genomic variations influence human physiology – and how it changes over time and in disease.
UK chemical optimism takes a tumble
Business optimism in the UK chemical supply sector fell in Q2 2024, compared with Q1, according to the latest survey by the UK Chemical Business Association (CBA), which represents the chemical supply chain. Only 22% of respondents reported improvements in their order books, compared with 31% in Q1. However this still represents a 7% increase over that reported in the same period of 2023, when only 15% reported an improvement.
Enhancing perovskite solar cells
Hong Kong researchers have developed a treatment that significantly enhances the efficiency and durability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Their breakthrough could potentially accelerate the large-scale production of this clean energy.
Self-watering and self-fertilising soils
Agriculture uses 70% of the world’s fresh water. It often uses more than the environment can sustainably provide and depletes this vital resource. Now, scientists at the University of Texas Austin, US, created small hydrogel beads, which reduce water use. The gel is mixed with soil, captures water from the air and then uses it to irrigate the soil – while also providing nutrients to surrounding plants.