Sequential high-speed images have captured how dielectric breakdown manifests in polymethyl methacrylate. The images have led researchers to uncover an entirely new mode of discharge propagation, which they describe as the ‘fastest physical phenomena observed visually in a solid-state material’. Powerful electric fields can cause dielectric materials like polymethyl methacrylate to breakdown and suddenly become […]

Actinium’s coordination behaviour is significantly different from its homologue lanthanum, the first single crystal x-ray structure for the element has shown in work that could help pave the way for new cancer therapies. Despite having been discovered in 1899, actinium remains one of the most mysterious elements – so much so that even its position […]

China’s science and technology ministry has prohibited all clinical research involving germline genome editing, describing the approach as ‘irresponsible’. Germline genome editing involves making edits to DNA in egg, sperm or early embryos to introduce changes that can be inherited by future generations. The South China Morning Post reports that the new Ethical Guideline for […]

My mate the HISTSCI_HULK, known to his friends as Hulky, was perusing our email website this morning, which as well as being the repository for our electronic mail is a sort of online newspaper, unfortunately rather close to the gutter press. He had just begun reading an editorial on the heatwaves, caused by the climate […]

In the summer of 2023, British cyclist Lizzy Banks faced every professional athlete’s worst nightmare – she was notified by UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) that she had returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) – a positive test. Ukad had identified two substances in her samples, the asthma medication formoterol and the diuretic chlortalidone. While her asthma […]

Disruptions to Red Sea cargo shipping, caused by ongoing attacks by Houthis in Yemen continue to significantly affect the chemicals industry, especially in Europe and Asia, according to Al Greenwood, a chemicals expert and deputy editor for the energy and chemicals consulting firm ICIS. The impact has been less in the US because American exporters […]

Scientists in the US have shown how a mechanochemical method – liquid-assisted ball mill grinding – can be used to functionalise post-consumer polystyrene. The team behind the work suggest it could be developed to upcycle commercial polymers by altering the polymer backbone. But other researchers are sceptical that such a process would ever be truly useful or […]

A new algorithm can predict the bitterness of a compound using only mass spec data, without knowing the chemical’s structure. The team from Hebrew University in Jerusalem says this new tool, dubbed BitterMasS, could streamline compound screening processes in food science, drug development, metabolomics, and other areas. The scientists also say it marks a significant […]

The liquid hydrocarbon seas that cover Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may have different compositions, small waves and active tidal currents. The landscape on Titan is characterised by large dune fields, flat plains and polar regions with large seas and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons. While exploration by the Cassini–Huygens space research mission has revealed much about […]

A new electrochemical method forms different products depending on the shape of the electrical signal that is applied. By tailoring various waveform parameters, researchers in China directed a catalytic reaction to make either a cross-coupling or difunctionalisation product with complete selectivity. Electrosynthesis – using electricity to generate compounds in an electrochemical cell – is an […]