Existential crisis, what crisis?
The opinions expressed in John Hands’ book stand in striking contrast to those of other commentators on the situation. He accepts that significant changes are now taking place on our planet but claims that these are neither unmanageable nor do they constitute an existential threat.
Birds are not real
According to his book, our next big mistake was allowing these parallel narratives of science to foster almost unchallenged for the next 60 years. One of the best examples is Andrew Wakefield’s paper on the ‘link’ between autism and the MMR vaccine that single-handedly launched the anti-vax movement and, despite having no scientific credibility, took 12 years to be retracted.
BASF restructures production
German chemical major BASF is restructuring production at its Ludwigshafen HQ to make it ‘better equipped for the intensifying competition in the long term’. The company plans to close the caprolactam plant, one of two ammonia plants and associated fertiliser facilities. The toluene diisocyanate (TDI) plant and the precursor plants for dinitrotoluene and toluene diamine will also be closed.
Pest genome database
A new database detailing the genomes of 19 global crop pests is now publicly available. It’s hoped that the contents will accelerate novel pest control approaches that are more species-specific and less likely to trigger resistance in their targets, as well as non-chemical methods that involve manipulating insect behaviour.
Greener dyeing
Microorganisms, wood pulp cellulose and aerogels are just some of the novel technologies helping to improve the process of dyeing textiles, Lou Reade reports – cutting the use of energy, water and toxic chemicals.
Business digest
The latest business digest for C&I Issue 3 2023 with all the latest mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry.
Smart bionic finger
Chinese researchers have developed a bionic ‘finger’ that can create 3D maps of the shapes and textures of complex objects lying beneath a surface – useful in medicine and electronics.
Magic angle electrons
Physicists in the US have proposed a new mechanism for superconductivity that arises when electrons slow in twisted bilayer graphene. This could open a route for designing new superconductors or improve existing materials.