What's New in the School of Chemistry?
[
This page is available as an RSS feed with the URL: http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/whatsnew/chemrss.xml]
Quantum biology and Ockham’s razor - 06/02/12
In a paper just published in Nature Chemistry, a team of University of Bristol chemists explores whether new models or concepts are needed to tackle one of the ‘grand challenges’ of chemical biology: understanding enzyme catalysis. The paper written by David Glowacki, Jeremy Harvey and Adrian Mulholland applied Ockham’s razor to the enzyme tunnelling problem. They used some simple maths to show that standard models for describing quantum tunnelling can explain the experimental enzyme data, so long as one accounts for the fact that enzymes have many possible different structures. Enzymes, like all proteins, are constantly fluctuating between many subtly different structures, which can have significantly different catalytic properties. The paper indicates that enzyme structural fluctuations are significant, and by including them in modelling, scientists have the theoretical tools needed to understand these amazing natural catalysts. This should make it possible in future to design new catalysts using these principles.
Bristol chemists make World's first magnetic soap - 24/01/12
The world’s first magnetic soap has been created by scientists and it could revolutionise the way pollution is cleaned up. It was made by dissolving iron in chlorine and bromine-rich liquid soap, similar to mouthwash or fabric conditioner. Magnetic soap could be used to create cleaning products that can later be removed such as those used to treat of oil spills at sea. The soaps can also be switched on and off with a magnet so they only work when they are needed. Julian Eastoe, who was one of the group that made the soap, says it could revolutionise industrial cleaning products. Often detergents used in oil spills can cause more harm than the pollution they are cleaning.
Read more:
Previous articles during this year
- 10/01/12 Catherine Fletcher wins poster award
'What's New' pages from previous years
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998