Molten solution
INNOVATION
Neil Camarta just can’t seem to stay retired. After 35 years in the oil industry, including stints at Shell and Suncor, the chemical engineer from Edson, Alta. is now in...
Read More >>World’s largest green machine
SEQUESTRATION
In May, the National Research Council (NRC), Ontario-based Pond Biofuels and Alberta-based Canadian Natural Resources Limited announced the construction of a $19 million facility that will use algae grown on...
Read More >>Biosynthetic artemisinin leads to cheaper malaria drugs
PHARMACEUTICALS
An international team, including researchers from the National Research Council (NRC), has published a new semi-synthetic method for producing the anti-malarial drug artemisinin. The system combines biotechnology and industrial chemistry to greatly reduce the cost of the drug and its associated therapies. Artemisinin is currently extracted from sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) at high cost. “The plant produces only about one per cent dry weight...
Read More >>Molecular motions captured via electron diffraction
TECHNIQUES
A new technique developed at the University of Toronto has captured — with femtosecond accuracy and atomic resolution — real-time images of molecules undergoing structural transitions. (A femtosecond is one...
Read More >>Polymer glue could heal wounds
POLYMERS
A universal biomembrane adhesive developed at the University of British Columbia (UBC) could have applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery or wound care. Phophatidyl choline (PC) is found in the...
Read More >>Single-atom catalysts could improve fuel cell performance
ENERGY
Researchers at Western University have deposited clusters of platinum as small as a single atom on sheets of graphene. The structures could improve catalysis in fuel cells and automotive catalytic...
Read More >>Iron-based catalysts could provide greener polymers
CATALYSIS
GreenCentre Canada has signed an agreement to commercialize a new class of iron-based catalysts developed by chemists from the Atlantic region. The molecules could lead to greener processes for everything...
Read More >>Human Factor
INNOVATION
These days, technical skills alone do not an engineer make. Over the last decade, engineering schools across Canada have focused increasingly...
Read More >>Cold Case
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
As the days wax longer, few of us care to dwell on the snow and ice that dominated the landscape only weeks ago. But for the scientists trying to explain...
Read More >>Metal-organic frameworks advance fuel cell technology
ENERGY
Chemists at the University of Calgary have created two new metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that demonstrate some of the best performance yet in proton transport. Such advances could serve to create better hydrogen fuel cells. ...
Read More >>New class of conductive polymers synthesized
POLYMERS
Researchers at the University of Toronto have synthesized a new class of conducting polymers —polytellurophenes — that could bring about advances in organic solar cells and thin-film transistors.
Read More >>Two-headed‘ gemini’ surfactants commercialized
GREEN CHEMISTRY
A Novel class of two-headed surfactants developed by researchers at St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie...
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