Features

Could the two smallest satellites of Mars – Phobos and Deimos – have been formed from a disc of debris blasted into Mars orbit after a giant impact, instead of...

Reading the exosome

October 7, 2016

Once thought of as simple cellular waste disposal units, exosomes are now known to be messengers closely intertwined with a number of cellular processes. As such they can hold a...

Deep Impact?

October 6, 2016

Since their discovery in 1877 the origin of Phobos and Deimos has been a mystery. While they look like small asteroids, their orbits are not compatible with gravitational capture. So...

The fruit of our robotic labours

October 4, 2016

Robotics is not a new technology – so what has got scientists so excited recently about this scientific field? Fruit…that’s right, Agri-Tech East is bringing together scientists with industry and...

Is this the death of formaldehyde?

September 27, 2016

Earth & Environmental, Earth & Environmental Sciences, In Depth

Formaldehyde is a common lab chemical. Widely known for its use in embalming, it is also used as a disinfectant in laboratories – however, recent EU legislation suggests we need...

Earth & Environmental

New map, new thinking

September 22, 2016

Dr Emma Robinson tells us how comparing brain function not cortical folding patterns led to a revolutionary new brain map and why this has revealed a startling truth about neural...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

The galaxies that just stopped

September 18, 2016

Stars have been forming in galaxies in for billions of years. New research has however uncovered an unusual form of galaxy – one that doesn’t create stars, but instead prevents...

Patent pending?

September 15, 2016

When is a health treatment really new? When is a medical treatment really an invention? Patent attorney Isobel Finnie explores how diagnostic definitions vary between the European and American jurisdictions...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Opening up drug discovery

September 12, 2016

Collaboration is vital in modern drug discovery – but how to be transparent yet retain competitiveness? And more importantly, how can the academic-industrial relationship be maintained with integrity? Professor Jackie...

Catch them if you can

September 12, 2016

When it comes to the performance of your fluorescence microscopy system, every photon is sacred – but how to catch as many as you can? Dr Martin Thomas has some...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Ethics of genetics: More than just designer babies

September 6, 2016

Work around the human genome and advances in the accessibility and analysis of data, creates huge opportunities for early healthcare interventions. But the advent of genomic information and evolving technology...

Biological Sciences, Biology, Biotech, Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, In Depth, Pharmaceutical, Pharmacology

Keeping research pure

August 31, 2016

The antibody market is a huge worldwide industry, but how do scientists know that what they are ordering is of the best possible quality? Dr Giancarlo Barone explains the current...