A 29-year-old man living in Knutsford, Cheshire, has been found guilty of possessing hydrochloric and sulfuric acids without a licence. The case raises questions about the responsibilities of wholesalers selling regulated chemicals to members of the public. Concentrated hydrochloric and sulfuric acids are regulated because they can be used in the illicit manufacture of explosives […]

A new aerogel fibre, inspired by polar bear fur, can be knitted into insulating garments that are as warm as a down jacket at one-fifth of the thickness. The strong, stretchy material can be dyed and washed without showing signs of degradation. ‘This research marks a significant stride in overcoming aerogel limitations in textiles, facilitating […]

Several tonnes of plastic pellets have spilled along the northern coast of Spain it has now been officially confirmed. The spill was first spotted by environmental associations in December, after a Liberia-registered cargo ship lost six Maersk containers at sea, one of which held over a thousand 25kg bags of pellets – an estimated total […]

A new light-driven process converts the industrial solvent tetrachloroethylene into useful organic chemical building blocks. The approach could enable a simple, inexpensive, safe and environmentally friendly way to upcycle waste solvent into carbonate esters and chloroform. Tetrachloroethylene, commonly known as perc, is widely used as a metal degreaser and for dry-cleaning fabrics. However, its waste […]

Nuclear energy shuffled into the spotlight in December with a declaration at the COP28 climate meeting to triple its capacity by 2050. The declaration lauded the role of nuclear energy in achieving global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Yet many industry watchers doubt this ambition can be achieved. ‘If I was a betting man, […]

We have now reached the pinnacle of investigations into magnetism and the magnetic compass, during the Early Modern Period, with the publication of William Gilbert’s De magnete in 1600. I will be handling it in four separate posts–a biography of Gilbert, a presentation of the book, a possible/probably co-author, and the dispute of the disciples. It is […]

The news of a brand new class of antibiotic and a promising clinical candidate, zosurabalpin, against the priority pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii has been met with great excitement around the world.1,2 Not only has it been a long time since a new class of antibiotic was discovered, but A. baumannii is a pathogen for which the […]

A critique of a paper published in Nature last year, which reported the discovery of over 40 novel materials using an autonomous laboratory guided by artificial intelligence, has concluded that no new materials were discovered. The laboratory, dubbed A-Lab, was developed by a team led by Yan Zeng and Gerbrand Ceder at Lawrence Berkeley National […]

Two chemistry Nobel prize medals were sold in the space of three days at auctions held in December. These included the 1948 medal awarded to Arne Tiselius and Adolf von Baeyer’s 1905 medal – the oldest Nobel prize in science yet to have been sold at auction. Swedish chemist Tiselius was awarded his Nobel prize […]

Back in May 2023, Renaissance Mathematicus friend, Michael Barton, expert for all things Darwinian, drew our attention to a new piece of history of science hot air from the HISTSCI_HULK’s least favourite windbag, Neil deGrasse Tyson. This time it’s a clip from one of his appearances on the podcast of Joe Rogan, a marriage made in heaven; they […]