Μάιος 2017

Researchers have made a chance discovery on how wax moth larvae commercially bred for fishing bait have the ability to biograde polyethylene – in essence, they can eat our waste, sparking widespread excitement that these little critters could become a potent weapon against environmental pollution.

Bronchitis and pneumonia may be harmful, but by studying the genetic structure of the bacteria that causes them, EU-funded scientists have been able to gain a better understanding of how genes function. Their research suggests DNA is organised the same way in all living organisms, a finding that may hold the key to new vaccines and drug therapies.

New Open Source technology called SwellRT has received a strong boost that will make it substantially easier and safer for developers to produce new applications and online services.

SwellRT is a framework for the development of collaborative decentralised apps. Importantly, it saves time for developers struggling with common tasks due to a simple Application programming interface (API) for real-time data storage, search, authentication, access control and event-based integration with third party systems.

It has been possible to demonstrate scientifically that tobermorite can be produced at 400 ⁰C when above 200 ⁰C it had been thought to be impossible. This mineral has been found in concrete buildings dating back to Roman times and could hold the key to their durability.

Researchers at Tecnalia and the ICMCB-CNRS have recently published the article “Ultra-Fast Supercritical Hydrothermal Synthesis of Tobermorite under Thermodynamically Metastable Conditions” in the prestigious scientific journal Angewandte Chemie.