Old Hulky[2] was thinking of taking time off for the summer and retiring to an ice floe[3] in the North Atlantic for a couple of weeks to escape the heat wave, when Neil deGrasse Tyson has to go and publish a piece of history of astronomy inanity that would have to look hard to find its equal […]

A combination of computational and experimental techniques unveils ‘encrypted’ peptides in proteomes of ancient humans with potential as antibiotic agents Neanderthal proteins could be a rich new source of medicinal molecules. The finding comes from researchers who have pioneered a technique called ‘molecular de-extinction’ by analysing the proteomes of ancient hominins. The work has already […]

Human activities like tubing and swimming significantly impact river chemistry, according to preliminary results from researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Colorado School of Mines that were presented at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) held in San Francisco, California and virtually. Last year, the Hopkins-led team examined samples from Clear Creek […]

Chemical analysis of letters written by the Romanian prince who may have inspired the novel Dracula, has revealed that he may have shed tears of blood due to a medical condition called haemolacria. Scientists from the University of Catania in Italy used non-invasive sampling techniques to extract and analyse 500 peptides and 16 proteins from […]

I have gained a reputation for pointing out and demolishing myths in the history of science. One area where these are particularly prevalent is in the history of the European Middle Ages. With numerous people claiming that there was little or no science during this period and what there was, was all wrong, usually blaming […]

Sustained exposure to low-dose ionising radiation is linked to a higher risk of mortality from solid cancers than previously estimated, a new analysis of the International Nuclear Workers Study (Inworks) has found. The researchers say the findings should inform radiation protection standards, which are currently based on studies of acutely exposed people, such as survivors […]

In 1976 an unexpectedly beautiful creature emerged from a theoretical study of 2D crystals in a magnetic field. With its repeating recursive flutter of wings, ‘Hofstadter’s butterfly’ showed how the effects of an applied magnetic field and the electrostatic potential from a two-dimensional crystalline lattice play out, and would help explain electron behaviour in various […]

The UK government is to invest £210 million to increase international surveillance of drug-resistant bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where bacteria cannot be effectively treated with antibiotics, is linked to 1.3 million deaths per year worldwide. The funding, from the UK’s aid budget, will support surveillance efforts in the 25 countries most affected by AMR. UK […]

Electrocatalysis has a problem. ‘The number of people doing studies with inappropriate reference electrodes in aqueous electrochemistry is really alarming,’ says Anantharaj Sengeni, from the SRM Institute of Science and Technology in India. Working alongside Suguru Noda from Waseda University in Japan, Sengeni has uncovered thousands of such incidences and associated errors in the scientific […]

Specialised marine bacteria that bloom following oil spills form unique biofilms that reshape the oil droplets, allowing more bacteria to feed at once. The finding improves scientists’ understanding of the processes that drive biodegradation of spilled oil. The bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis consumes hydrocarbons as its sole carbon and energy source. The marine bacteria are known […]