Stepping up the pace of protein design
BIOCHEMISTRY
Computer models based on molecular energy budgets have made it easier than ever to imagine the myriad ways a protein structure could be folded. Yet it has still been difficult...
Read More >>The life-saving potential of the deadly carrot
PHARMACEUTICALS
Apoisonous plant’s value is in the eye of the beholder and Thapsia garganica has become highly prized by cancer specialists. In the wake of a recently published development by investigators...
Read More >>Putting proof back in the engineering curriculum
EDUCATION
Chemical engineers rely on a wide range of numerical methods to make sense of an otherwise messy physical world. But when these methods are taught to students, they are often presented in an already simplified format, without formal proofs and perhaps even embedded in the complex code of modelling software.
Read More >>Pilot plant to recharge battery manufacture
NANOMATERIALS
Over the past two decades we have become surrounded by lithium battery technology, some of it almost invisible but nevertheless essential to providing portable power storage that we now take for granted. But turning raw lithium into an appropriate medium for retaining and transferring an electrical charge is a complicated process.
Read More >>Innovative gel douses an entrepreneurial fire
BUSINESS
At first glance the YouTube video looks like yet another reminder that some people have too much time on their hands. And in this case one of those hands is covered in an opaque gel, while the other holds a blowtorch with the flame set directly on that hand for what seems like far too long.
Read More >>Alberta wells gush a different gold
PETROCHEMISTRY
Technology aimed at cleaning up the wastewater generated by oil and gas extraction could also transform Alberta into one of the world’s leading lithium producers. This element has become a...
Read More >>Peeking at pillowing in batteries
ENERGY
Amid concerns over the safety and quality of lithium ion batteries, these ubiquitous power sources surrender their secrets to the synchrotron.
Read More >>Chemical powerhouse gets a green light
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Southwestern Ontario spawned North America's petrochemical economy and now the research infrastructure that built this industry is contributing to the rise of a new generation of biochemical ventures.
Read More >>Bringing crystallized blood cells in from the cold
HEALTH
Imagine waiting in line to buy the latest smart phone, laying down a great deal of money for it, then suddenly being told that if you don’t plug in your new purchase within 15 minutes, it will never work. High tech vendors would hate this approach, as would their...
Read More >>Fishing for bacteria reels in huge health challenge
BIOCHEMISTRY
A sophisticated understanding of biochemistry and microfluidics has yielded a simple, cost-effective way of dealing with contaminated water, a problem facing more than a billion people in the developing world. Among the most prominent ...
Read More >>Investigators corral the secrets of mad cow disease
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Prions, the misfolded proteins that can wreak havoc on the brain, are slowly surrendering their secrets. First identified in the late 1980s as the culprit behind mad cow disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans), investigators have spent the past 25 years trying to determine...
Read More >>Tiny fruit fly hairs inspire simplified spectrometers
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Legend has it that Isaac Newton’s insight into the natural world was inspired by an apple; Arindam Phani has taken his own inspiration from the insects that might have sought out that fruit.
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