Articles
Magma differentiation: The complex processes behind active volcanism
Active volcanism is prevalent across much of the Earth’s surface, yet the deep mantle and crustal processes that drive it are still being understood by geologists. Untangling the complex chemical relationships that arise from magma differentiation offer some clues as to the relationships between melting of mantle rock and crystallisation of molten magma to igneous rocks. Professor Vander Auwera at […]
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The return of religion or the end of religion?
Jayne Svenungsson, Professor at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University examines the relationship between religion and secularism and the ideological underpinnings of the European concept of religion. She demonstrates that the term religion is a historical product of a secular but mainly Christian Europe, and that it is now more meaningful as an agent of disunity, and […]
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Industrial-Academic collaboration: The key for C-H bond activation
A very hot and current scientific topic is the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the burning question being “how can we make API synthesis efficient?”. A big step towards the answer was taken by Dr Guillaume Journot, senior scientist at Servier, France, and Dr Jean-François Brière, a CNRS senior research scientist at COBRA laboratory in Rouen, France. They proved […]
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Amino acids bombarded with ionising radiation – what breaks first?
Ionising radiation, including high-energy electrons, is usually something best avoided. However, nuclear accidents and even medical tools mean that human tissue is occasionally exposed to it. After the ‘Atomic Age’ of the mid-1900s, understanding the effect of radiation on the human body has been recognised as of paramount importance. Dr Jelena Tamuliene’s most recent research at Vilnius University is into […]
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Tracking changing shapes in falling raindrops
Raindrops can adopt remarkably similar shapes, sizes and movements as they fall to the ground, but so far, our understanding of their behaviour has remained far from complete. Through her research, Dr Merhala Thurai at Colorado State University uses innovative techniques to learn more about what happens as they fall, particularly during stormy weather. Her team’s work offers important new […]
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Coastline evolution: The rise and fall of sea level through time
Changes in global sea level have been ongoing throughout the Earth’s geological history, driven by the growth and decay of ice sheets. The Last Glacial Maximum – when ice sheets were at their greatest extent – occurred as early human communities were developing, often focused in coastal areas such as the Mediterranean Basin. Dr Emanuele Lodolo of the National Institute […]
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An introduction to the information dimension
The difficulty of defining the true nature of information has sparked a rich, seemingly unending variety of questions over the past centuries; from the nature of the human soul to whether artificial intelligence can gain consciousness. Now Daniel Boyd, an independent researcher in the Netherlands, believes that these problems could be solved if we view information as a substance residing […]
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Organisational change through non-traditional approaches
Professor Cliff Oswick and daughter Rosie Oswick, based at Cass Business School, City, University of London, are researching new, non-traditional approaches to organisational change. Their interests are in looking beyond traditional attitudes to organisational change that take a problem-centred approach to issues. A genuine interest in social concerns is not generally incorporated into this top-down approach, whereas a bottom-up, non-hierarchical […]
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A trick of the light: Discovering Dark-Bright and Anti-Dark-Bright Solitons
Light has many incredible properties. They range from its strange duality of behaviour, acting either as a wave or a particle, to demonstrating incredible nonlinear effects that can be exploited with laser and optical technologies. One such property is the ability of light waves to form solitons when they pass through materials like optical fibres. Solitons, or solitary waves, occur […]
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Family-based interventions can help to prevent cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide, but the number of deaths are disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol have well-understood links to CVD. Fortunately, risks from these factors can be modified through lifestyle interventions. However, lifestyle interventions at the individual level often fail to produce desirable […]
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