University College Dublin Archives

The importance of people’s values and self-identities in the acceptability of geoengineering technologies

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Why is the acceptability of geoengineering technologies important? For many, climate change is regarded as one of the most pressing issues in modern times. By 2050, the European Union is aiming to have 70% of its energy supplies come from renewable energy sources. Similarly, one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to provide clean, affordable, and sustainable energy […]

Nanotechnology provides new methods for oral delivery of peptides

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One aspect of successful drug development is efficient delivery to affected organs. Most drugs are taken by mouth, travel to the intestines, are absorbed into the bloodstream, and circulated to organs of interest. However, a class of potent drugs known as peptides cannot withstand this abrasive route and are directly injected into veins, under the skin, or into muscles. Injections […]

Unravelling the properties of membrane proteins

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30 years ago Matthias Wilm laid the scientific foundation for a methodology which today facilitates the synthesis and self-assembly of lipid membranes with proteins, granting insight into a complexity that has evolved over a million years of membrane protein evolution. From a biomedical to an environmental context, the use of molecular beams promises radical changes to how scientists solve problems […]