This blog post is a modified version of two blog posts from my The emergence of modern astronomy–a complex mosaic series and yes it involves self plagiarism. I wrote it, rather than simply linking, because the content also belongs in this blog post series, which I wish to be complete and autonomous Short popular presentations […]

Researchers in the US have constructed batteries that can be completely absorbed by the environment or living organisms after they have worked for a short amount of time. The batteries could be developed to power temporary cardiac pacemakers or for environmental monitoring. Earlier work on similar technology had been limited by low voltage outputs or […]

Scientists in South Korea are reporting the most accurate experimental geometries for benzene and deuterated benzene to date.1 The team led by Thomas Schultz at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology say that previously reported experimental structures were out by several milliangstroms. Sérgio Domingos from the University of Coimbra in Portugal, who wasn’t […]

With only two weeks left until the 2022 chemistry Nobel prize is announced, Web of Science provider Clarivate has published its citation laureates – researchers whose work ranks among the 0.01% of most highly cited publications. Zhenan Bao from Stanford University, US, was selected for her work on flexible electronics and electronic skin, organic and […]

The European commission has proposed legislation to secure the supply of crucial minerals such as lithium and rare earth elements (REEs) to the EU. The European Critical Raw Materials Act was announced by Ursula von der Leyen, commission president, during her state of the union address earlier this month. She noted that almost 90% of […]

Bulk properties have an unexpected impact on surface reactivity, new research has shown. With applications as wide-ranging as catalysis, energy storage and structural engineering, this new mode of reaction control could have significant implications across the applied sciences. Despite their ubiquity in everyday life, surfaces present an interesting chemical problem. ‘We can define the bulk […]

The US Department of Agriculture has approved a genetically modified purple tomato. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s regulatory status review states that the plant ‘may be safely grown and used in breeding in the [US]’. The ‘nutritionally enhanced’ purple tomatoes were created by the UK’s first GM crop company, Norfolk Plant Sciences (NPS). […]

In the normal blog post rotation, a book review should be due today. However, instead today’s post is a literature review, listing and describing books on the histories of the theories of vision, spectacles, and telescopes, with the latter coming first as they are the actual main theme of the review. I announced my intention […]

Research explaining why research funds should be distributed on a random basis was honoured with the Ig Nobel prize in economics at an online ceremony on Thursday 15 September. The Italian team behind the work developed a mathematical model showing why success is often more down to luck than talent. Alessandro Pluchino, Alessio Emanuele Biondo […]

A probe instigated by the French health ministry has found ‘serious malfunctions’ in the laboratory of Didier Raoult, a microbiologist who rose to prominence after suggesting hydroxychloroquine could treat for Covid-19. Based on Raoult’s small March 2020 study, the then US President Donald Trump repeatedly endorsed hydroxychloroquine, a decades-old cheap malaria drug as a treatment […]