Contemporary biology
The ideas discussed are essentially a distillation of various publications by the authors and their co-workers over the past 12 years in which they have sought to elevate biology to par status with the physical sciences. Read the book review in C&I Magazine Issue 10 2021.
The Cinderella element
In our quest for sustainability, we’ve forgotten phosphorus. This is what worries two specialists in the complementary fields of soil and water. Writing in an engaging style, transatlantic authors Jim Elser and Phil Haygarth remind us that this ‘Cinderella’ element, essential to life in so many ways – ‘phosphates hold our genes up’, they write – comes from finite resources, which are being squandered.
AI in drug discovery
The development of pharmaceutical drugs is a long costly process. AI has been successfully applied to speed up virtual screening, de novo drug discovery, and can be utilised to optimise compounds to have drug-like properties.
Nose for knee repair
Osteoarthritis is one of the biggest causes of knee injury. Currently, sufferers receive palliative treatment for pain and inflammation – until a prosthetic knee implant becomes necessary. Surgery is especially problematic in younger patients, owing to the limited lifespan of prosthetics.
Entrepreneurial advice
Parallel to a long list of skills entrepreneurs must excel at, lies a list of pitfalls they must watch out for. First on my list is, listen to others - but not too much. Read the comment from Natasha Boulding, CEO and founder, Sphera.
Thorium reactors
China is to begin testing a 2MW thorium-fueled nuclear reactor as the first step in commercialising the technology. The plant has been constructed in Wuwei, near the Gobi Desert, in Gansu province.
Biomedical
Biomedical highlights from C&I Magazine Issue 10 2021 written by Kevin Burgess, Texas A&M University, US
Microscopic insulator
Scientists have created a layered crystalline material that is both a thermal conductor and an insulator within the same microstructure.
Not so united front
While the UK’s COP26 President Alok Sharma was clocking up air miles jetting around the world attempting to stir up support for radical measures to combat climate change, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has been announcing more and more dramatic and urgent measures to achieve the so-called net-zero target of 2050, in an attempt to encourage other G20 nations to follow suit.
Lithium-selective membranes
Lithium is a key constituent in batteries for electronic devices and is expected to be crucial in future batteries that power next-generation cars and planes. But lithium extraction from salt brines in South America is time consuming and costly, requiring solar evaporation. Now, researchers report that a newly designed membrane could do the job more efficiently.