15-05-2013

A new joint innovation by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Cambridge could pave the way for redefining the ampere in terms of fundamental constants of physics. The world's first graphene single-electron pump (SEP), described in a paper in Nature Nanotechnology, ...

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24-04-2013

A new way of making semiconducting perovskite-based solar cells could result in photovoltaic devices that are 70% cheaper than current commercial models, say UK scientists. Although dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs) have been leading the charge in cheap-to-process cell designs, ...

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24-04-2013

Burning biomass for heat and power could produce as much as 2000 TWh by 2020, which would produce 4–15.6 million tonnes of waste ash, per year, in Europe alone. To address the problem of what to do with all this waste, scientists in the UK have developed a method to convert this ash into ...

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A research team from NPL and the University of Edinburgh have invented a new way to zip and unzip DNA strands using electrochemistry

22-04-2013

The DNA double helix has been one of the most recognisable structures in science ever since it was first described by Watson and Crick almost 60 years ago (paper published in Nature in 25 April 1953). The binding and unbinding mechanism of DNA strands is vital to natural biological processes ...

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IAL Consultants publishes the third edition of its report on the markets for Aromatic and Aliphatic Polyester Polyols

19-04-2013

This new study updates the information included in our previous study published in 2007. Data in this report has been extensively revised through a lengthy programme of interviews throughout the industry during the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. This report contains data ...

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17-04-2013

There has been an increase in the popularity and practical application of hyperpolarization NMR/MRI. One way to achieve high levels of nuclear spin polarization is based on the notion that as the temperature is reduced (characterized by the spin-lattice relaxation time, T1), the equilibrium ...

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17-04-2013

The process by which plants convert energy from the sun’s rays into chemical ‘fuel’ has inspired a new way of generating clean, cheap, renewable hydrogen power which could solve looming problems with the UK’s energy infrastructure. Hydrogen is a significant source of energy which can be ...

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16-04-2013

Scientists in the UK are attempting to understand the host–guest chemistry of molecular cages in solution by separately quantifying the free energy contributions of (at least) three host–guest interaction mechanisms that usually work in unison: hydrogen-bonding, non-polar interactions and ...

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11-04-2013

Cryogenic Ltd and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have designed and developed the most accurate instrument for comparative measurements of electric current. The instrument can now be used by National Measurement Institutes (NMI) and laboratories around the world, providing a more ...

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10-04-2013

By using seaweed as the biomass source, scientists in the UK have made mesoporous material without the need for costly processes such as supercritical carbon dioxide drying. The materials produced have applications for new, low-cost and sustainable structured materials in monolithic form.

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