Synchrotron catches new glimpses of superconductors
FUNDAMENTALS
The search for new superconducting materials has waxed and waned over the past couple of decades as researchers have struggled to find...
Read More >>A new window on the chemical mechanics of glass
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Prehistoric peoples used naturally occurring glass to make some of the first cutting tools; modern humans began making this hard material at least 5,000 years ago.
Read More >>You can never be too thin
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY
Tony SpringThorpe holds his thumb and forefinger about a centimetre apart, then offers this revealing quip about his long and distinguished career, “For more than 40 years I’ve been doing...
Read More >>Shaken not stirred yields a new structure of zeolite
MECHANOCHEMISTRY
Zeolites are among the most highly prized materials of the modern chemical economy and many manufacturers may have been making them without even knowing it. These microporous crystals are exceptionally versatile adsorbents that have found a wide range...
Read More >>Microbubbles release cancer-fighting nanoparticles
NANOTECHNOLOGY
If the human body had a building code, most cancerous tumours would qualify as fast and dirty construction that no inspector would approve. Their blood supply is delivered through leaky, poorly fitting vessels and the surrounding tissue does a terrible job...
Read More >>Fluorine boosts efficacy of conventional medications
BIOCHEMISTRY
Among the most powerful weapons in our antibiotic arsenal are aminoglycosides, which can prevent the biosynthesis of key proteins that infectious bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli need to survive. First isolated in the 1950s...
Read More >>Broaching the blood-brain barrier with MRI technology
TECHNIQUES
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment has become a cornerstone technology of medical diagnosis. But Sylvain Martel, a professor of computer engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, is taking MRI research a step further by utilizing it as an equally...
Read More >>Designer threads make for highly functional fashion
MATERIALS SCIENCE
The centuries-old Indian weaving technique known as zari wraps flattened metal wires around silk fibres to create a shimmering brocade. This traditional textile provides chemistry professor Christa Brosseau of Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia with an elegant ...
Read More >>Firefighters pair with GreenCentre Canada to push gel
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
When a group of experienced firefighters in eastern Ontario wanted to come up with a way of making their profession more environmentally friendly, they turned to Ontario’s network of organizations that help turn such ideas into marketable products.
Read More >>A pressing issue adds high-tech value to graphite
MATERIALS SCIENCE
A cross-country collaboration between companies and researchers in British Columbia and Ontario should enable the high-tech capabilities of graphite to withstand the brutal economics of building heat exchangers. An innovative method of rolling...
Read More >>Teasing out magnetite’s elusive hidden properties
SURFACE CHEMISTRY
We can only imagine how intrigued and tantalized ancient observers became when they discovered the properties of magnetite (Fe3O4) more than 2,000 years ago. This material has since become a common source of
Read More >>Higher energy storage in lithium-sulphur batteries
MATERIALS SCIENCE
University of Waterloo chemistry professor Linda Nazar has found herself mining some 19th century science in order to understand the basis for the next generation of 21st century batteries. Since 2009, Nazar’s research group has...
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