When Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier revealed that the bacterial Crispr–Cas9 antiviral defence system could be reprogrammed to edit genomic DNA they could scarcely have imagined the impact their discovery would have. One Nobel prize and a decade later treatments based on the technique are racing towards the clinic. Read more in Chemistry World.
Chemistry World
Replication failures cast doubt on some cancer studies
A decade-long project that attempted to replicate experiments from several high-profile papers in the field of preclinical cancer biology has found that around half of the experiments couldn’t be replicated on most criteria. ‘This suggests the credibility of published findings in cancer biology are less certain than thought,’ said Brian Nosek, executive director of the […]
Tiny ruler takes measure of single protein molecules
Experiment identifies proteins from their mechanical fingerprints. Researchers have invented nano-sized calipers to identify individual protein molecules, which could make it easier to find trace proteins in biological samples. ‘We want to do for proteins what next-generation sequencing did for DNA,’ says Wesley Wong from Harvard University, US, who developed the technique with his colleagues. Read […]
Pollen-mimicking antidote saves bees after pesticide exposure
Feeding bees an antidote packaged inside pollen-like particles can rescue them from pesticide poisoning, according to research by scientists in the US. Read more in Chemistry World.
Can negative emission technologies overcome climate catastrophe?
Humanity is running out of time to deal with the climate crisis. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that we need to limit atmospheric carbon dioxide to less than 450 parts per million in order to have a chance to keep average global surface temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C by the end […]
Deportations on the back of consumer genetic tests worry scientists
Canada’s border enforcement agency appears to be using genetic tests and DNA ancestry sites to determine country of origin for would-be deportees. Geneticists in Canada are raising concerns about the apparent use of direct-to-consumer genetic tests and ancestry websites by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to help determine the country of origin for people […]
Canadian scientists welcome new research integrity policy
The government says it will do more to protect federal scientists from political interference. The Canadian government has introduced a new model scientific integrity policy to protect its public sector scientists from political interference, and the country’s research community, including high-profile chemists, applaud the development. ‘The government is committed to science and evidence-based decision-making,’ said Canada’s science […]
Concern over future of science in Ontario
Province’s new premier cancels media subscriptions and revokes carbon tax. Scientists in Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, are concerned about the future of government science in the province following the election of Doug Ford as premier. Ford, brother of the late Toronto mayor Rob Ford, has a populist streak and has shown little interest in […]
Free certification for US cannabis labs to help fight opioid epidemic
Ensuring that America’s medical marijuana is reliable and of high quality will help patients and drive down opioid use in the country, according to Americans for Safe Access. A group dedicated to improving access to and the safety of medicinal cannabis in the US is offering its certification programme free of charge to cannabis testing […]
Trapping seawater contaminants in calcareous deposits
Electrochemical technique can trap up to 24% of nickel in metal-rich seawater, in just seven days. The same process that causes crusty limescale to build up on the inside of your kettle could help to clean up nickel pollution in seawater, according to new research from the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. Read more in […]