Topic description and stories

Part of the set-up for creating medium-density amorphous ice: ordinary ice and steel balls in a jar (not amorphous ice)

New form of ice is like a snapshot of liquid water

02 Feb 2023

A collaboration between scientists at Cambridge and UCL has led to the discovery of a new form of ice that more closely resembles liquid water than...

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Medication

Method to predict drug stability could lead to more effective medicines

05 Mar 2018

Researchers from the UK and Denmark have developed a new method to predict the physical stability of drug candidates, which could help with the...

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Silk “micrococoons” could be used in biotechnology and medicine

19 Jul 2017

Researchers have manufactured microscopic versions of the cocoons spun by silkworms, which could be used to store sensitive proteins and other...

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Transmission electron microscopy image showing a molecular chaperone (the black dots) binding to thread-like amyloid-beta (Aβ42)

Molecular inhibitor breaks cycle that leads to Alzheimer’s

16 Feb 2015

A molecular chaperone has been found to inhibit a key stage in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and break the toxic chain reaction that leads...

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The study built on previous work which created synthetic molecules known as “XNA”, then used these as the basis of creating so-called “XNAzymes”.

World’s first artificial enzymes created using synthetic biology

01 Dec 2014

Enzymes made from artificial molecules which do not occur anywhere in nature have been shown to trigger chemical reactions in the lab, challenging...

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Polymer molecular sieves with interconnected pores (in green) for rapid and selective transport of molecules

Advanced molecular 'sieves' could be used for carbon capture

16 Sep 2014

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed advanced molecular ‘sieves’ which could be used to filter carbon dioxide and other...

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Lipid flexing within gap plasmon hot stop

Watching molecules ‘dance’ in real time

12 Aug 2014

A new technique which traps light at the nanoscale to enable real-time monitoring of individual molecules bending and flexing may aid in our...

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Discovery of new structure of cell’s communication channel could aid drug development

28 Apr 2014

The structure of sodium channels – which play an essential role in the functioning of heart and nerve cells – are different than previously believed...

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Left: Laser apparatus used to study singlet fission in Cambridge. Right: Celestia sun

Two for one in solar power

18 Nov 2013

A process that could revolutionise solar energy harvesting has been efficiently demonstrated in solution for the first time.

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Image, magnified a million times, of amyloid fibril, the type of protein  structures that are formed in Alzheimer’s

Scientists identify molecular trigger for Alzheimer’s disease

21 May 2013

New research establishes nature of malfunction in protein molecules that can lead to onset of dementia.

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Representation of a pyrrole molecule

Movement of pyrrole molecules defy ‘classical’ physics

26 Apr 2013

Quantum laws loom ever larger in physical world as new research finds quantum phenomena in effect on a molecular level

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