12 May 2020
SCI’s peer reviewed journals provide research studies and commentary articles undertaken by top scientists in emerging areas, addressing global audiences by crossing academic, industrial and science policy sectors.
Here we highlight some of the most recent papers from our journals. To view the full range of SCI’s journals, visit our Publications page.
China topping intellectual property in entomology
Pest Management Science DOI:10.1002/ps.5780
Crop protection compound discovery was dominted by businesses and organizations from Europe and the US. But a research team from the US has highlighted a shift, across the last two decades, with an increasing number of patents coming out of China. The researchers say that International Standards Organization data for 2007-2017 show that 21% of new insecticides were from China. However, the researchers say that none of these compounds represent new areas of chemistry or new modes of action. In addition those that have been commercialized appear to have been developed for the Chinese market. It is possible that as the crop protection compound industry in China continues to evolve, new first-in-class areas of chemistry may emerge and these compounds will begin to see global registration.
Fungi should be explored further as a source of chitinous biopolymers
Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology DOI:10.1002/jctb.6325
Commercial chitin is currently obtained from marine shell waste such as shrimp, lobster and crab. However harsh chemical procedures with low reproducibility due the variability of the composition of the raw materials and their seasonal character, makes the process expensive. These disadvantages can be overcome using fungi as sources of chitinous polymers. A research team from the Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal, says that the extraction of chitin from fungi cell walls has the advantage of yielding products with a stable composition and properties, while using simpler extraction techniques. Researchers say that fungal chitinous biopolymers are still under explored, but they hold great potential for development into valuable products.
Carbohydrates composition influences sensory characteristics of beer
Journal of Science Food and Agriculture DOI:10.1002/jsfa.10337
A research team in China has compared the carbohydrates in three types of commercial beer; barley malt, wheat and barley malt with unmalted grains. Researchers found that in the three types of beer the main oligosaccharide were tetrasaccharides, trisaccharides and disaccharides, these sugars reflected the yeast utilization and also, to a large extent, the production conditions. The researchers say that tracking the carbohydrate composition is important in modern brewing, especially for developing new flavours.
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