International – Pagina 9
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InternationalBioBTX develops technology for sustainable aromatics
BioBTX has developed technology to sustainably manufacture high-performance materials by converting waste into chemical building blocks.
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InternationalAll tied up: germanene nanoribbons could be useful for quantum computers
Researchers from Twente and Utrecht have made strips of germanium atoms that are one atom thick and a few nanometres wide. The two-dimensional nanoribbons have properties that could be useful in future quantum computers.
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InternationalS(tea)ping against metals
Some cultures serve a cup of tea with every meal. Recently, researchers at Northwestern University discovered that tea can filter out some of the heavy metals. As well as being tasty, a cup of tea now seems to have another small health benefit.
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InternationalShedding light on off-targets
Using photoaffinity probes based on a motif found in kinase-targeting anticancer drugs, researchers from KU Leuven have shown that their off-targets are not only found in the kinase families, but also in other proteins. They have published their findings in Communications Chemistry.
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InternationalProtective bubbles
Fatty tissue is an important energy reserve. But it also acts as a super-strength protective ‘bubble wrap’ for fragile parts of the skeleton.
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InternationalFinding your writer’s voice
Writing is an essential skill in academia, yet many early-career researchers find it challenging. In this column, Isabelle Kohler shares her personal relationship with writing and offers practical advice to help researchers transform writing from a daunting task into a rewarding practice.
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InternationalVici grants awarded
Dutch research funding organisation NWO selected 43 proposals for a Vici-grant. Among the laureates are four KNCV-members.
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InternationalProducing antibodies non-stop
Huge batch reactors are still the norm in the bioprocessing industry. But they are not really sustainable, nor are they cheap. Start-up company SimAbs is now introducing a steady-state system in which antibodies are produced continuously.
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InternationalBorrowed hydrogen makes ‘green’ soap
Ben Feringa’s group has developed a simple, green method for attaching unprotected alcohols to amino acids, with only water as a by-product. All the possibilities are described in Chemistry A European Journal.
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InternationalNatural and unnatural amino acids show synthetic synergy
A team from Groningen and Barcelona cleared up what takes place when you put a designer enzyme with unnatural amino acids through a directed evolution campaign, as shown in ACS Catalysis. ‘We didn’t anticipate this at all.’
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InternationalAdrian Hergesell – Stretching plastic bonds for recycling
Adrian Hergesell is working on an alternative and much more sustainable way of recycling plastic using a ball mill and renewable energy.
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InternationalTicks owe their tenacity to glycine-rich proteins
Thanks to colloid chemistry, ticks can suck our blood at their leisure. By chance, two groups from Maastricht and Wageningen were the first to shed light on this, as they report in Nature Chemistry.
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InternationalThe power of looking backwards
Isabelle shares how her personal journey taught her the value of looking backwards rather than forwards or sideways. She applies these insights to academia, encouraging PhD students and postdocs to acknowledge their progress and small wins.
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InternationalAn X-ray lens on catalysts
Researchers in Ghent have found a method to determine the temperature of a catalyst very locally during a reaction, as reported in Nature Catalysis. Their work offers a new fundamental view of catalytic reactions.
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InternationalTiny tin
A spectacular image of an electrocatalyst that exhibits spectacular behaviour. During CO2 reduction, this combination of tin particles on a nanotextured carbon support manages to improve its performance. The secret: particle breakdown.
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InternationalE-boiler reduces gas consumption at Vopak Vlaardingen
Tank storage company Vopak has recently installed an e-boiler at its terminal in Vlaardingen. This could reduce gas consumption by a third. ‘The benefits lie in sustainability and CO2 reduction.’
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InternationalDrug probe fishes for off-targets
Attaching a biotin tail to a cancer drug makes it possible to see very specifically which proteins the drug targets in lysed cancer cells, as a Dutch team shows in ChemBioChem.
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InternationalWashing your laundry in hydrochloric acid
Researchers in Amsterdam, together with technology company Avantium, have developed a process to extract glucose from polycotton and recycle the remaining polyester. It is already working on a pilot scale, Nature Communications reports.
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InternationalStereospecific superglue
Simple molecules can be used to make a biodegradable glue that is stronger than current petroleum-based mass products. And it does not have to be much more expensive, write US researchers in Science.
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InternationalPrioritise your next step
Career planning is often overshadowed by the demands of research, leaving many PhD students unprepared for their next step. That’s why they should start planning their next career move early, says Isabelle Kohler.