Asteroids bombarding Mars in its early history could have delivered organic molecules and vast amounts of water – enough to cover the entire planet 300m deep.1 The finding offers a glimpse at where Mars’ water came from as well as how it could have once had the necessary ingredients for life to emerge. Mars orbiters […]

Some of you might have noticed that yesterday was Wednesday and there was no new substantive post here at the Renaissance Mathematicus. Did anybody notice, probably not. The explanation for this absence is quite simple, on the one hand pressure of work, on the other, I’m ill. I was to hold a public lecture yesterday, […]

A parliamentary committee has called for the UK to ban all exports of plastic waste by the end of 2027, and for the government to set out how this would be achieved within the next four months.  In 2021, over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste were produced in the UK, of which around […]

A machine learning algorithm tasked with designing peptides that form self-assembled structures outperformed leading experts in a head-to-head. Although the machine fell into some traps that the human experts avoided, it also discovered some highly novel peptides. Peptide self-assembly is crucial to numerous areas of biology such as collagen formation in skin, hair and nails, […]

A machine learning algorithm tasked with designing peptides that form self-assembled structures outperformed leading experts in a head-to-head. Although the machine fell into some traps that the human experts avoided, it also discovered some highly novel peptides. Peptide self-assembly is crucial to numerous areas of biology such as collagen formation in skin, hair and nails, […]

Hard-won gains from vaccines are at risk. Far too many people still do not have access to the vaccines they need, with nearly 20 million infants missing out each year, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO). His warnings preface a WHO report on the global vaccine supply chain, which […]

Myceliotronics are the latest development in biodegradable electronic components – battery parts made from mushrooms. The mycelium skin of a tree fungus can be used as a base layer for flexible circuit boards, as well as the casing and separator for a zinc–carbon battery. The perfect sustainable electronic device should contain only components that can […]

Almost two thirds of academics have experienced at least one form of violence because of their gender or gender expression, according to a Europe-wide survey of 42,000 researchers. They were most likely to report psychological violence followed by sexual harassment. The study involved staff and students at 46 research organisations and universities and had a […]

Greta Heydenrych is the new executive director of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac), the international body that codifies the measures and nomenclature used in chemistry. Heydenrych replaces outgoing director Lynn Soby, who led the organisation for eight years. Heydenrych moves to Iupac from Wiley-VCH where she was heavily involved in the […]

Two metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been identified that can effectively separate water isotopes, taking a leap toward solving one of chemistry’s classic problems. Being able to separate isotopes is vital to modern science, and this is particularly true for the isotopologues – compounds with the same chemical formula but with at least one atom having […]