A fast and ingenious new way to detect toxic contamination of water has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The method, currently undergoing further experimentation and development, has particular consequences for countering bioterrorism, but with less ominous, potential implications as well for medical technologies, pharmaceuticals and industry, plus environmental quality in general.

The work of the research team, headed by Prof. Shimshon Belkin,

An effective new approach to preventing sparks when an electrically charged object is earthed could prevent explosions and save lives following a motorway smash involving fuel tankers or other hazardous vehicles. Dr Klaus Schwenzfeuer of the Electrostatic Laboratory at the Swiss Institute for the Promotion of Safety & Security in Basle, will reveal the method at the Institute of Physics Congress at Heriot-Watt University on Monday 24 March.

Earthing a conductive and charged object will almos

Telecoms systems contain an awkward mixture of optics and electronics. A purely optical system would permit the very high data rates needed by the Internet, but at the moment the switching and routing, as well as the “last mile” to the customer, still depend on slower electronic components. Speaking at the Institute of Physics Congress on Monday 24 March, Professor Robert Denning from Oxford University will explain how his novel holographic approach to making 3-dimensional photonics crystals could al

A new image processing system devised by engineers at the University of Southampton could change the way that back problems are diagnosed and provide a solution to one of the most common causes of work loss in the UK.

Low back pain is a significant problem and its cost to society is enormous. However, diagnosis of the underlying causes remains problematic despite extensive study. Reasons for this arise from the deep-rooted situation of the spine and also from its structural complexity

Finding an economical way to make a polyester commonly found in many types of bacteria into a plastic with uses ranging from packaging to biomedical devices is a long-held scientific goal. Such a polymer would be a “green” plastic, in that it would be biodegradable.

Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has partially achieved this goal by discovering a highly efficient chemical route for the synthesis of the polymer, known as po

How do you improve on plastic, a modern material that has already changed the way we do everything from design medical devices to build cars? Embed it with specialized proteins called enzymes, says Shekhar Garde, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“Such protein-enhanced plastics might someday be able to act as ultra-hygienic surfaces or sensors to detect the presence of various chemicals,” says Garde. These types of materials could have a wide