Graphite nanoplatelets integrated into plastic medical surfaces can prevent infections, killing 99.99 % of bacteria which try to attach – a cheap and viable potential solution to a problem which affects millions, costs huge amounts of time and money, and accelerates antibiotic resistance. This is according to research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, in the journal Small.

Led by Dr. Manoj Kumar Bhat, a team of Indian researchers from the National Centre for Cell Science conducted studies on laboratory-bred mice to determine if obesity resulting from leptin deficiency could have any influence on cancer. The study provided valuable insights into the molecular connections underlying the relationship of diet-induced and genetics-associated obesity with colon cancer.

Wacker Chemie has opened a technical center for construction, textile and consumer-care applications in Istanbul. The technical facility serves as an application and test laboratory for polymeric binders and silicones.

Light-emitting diodes based on perovskites are still not sufficiently stable for practical use, but Researchers at Linköping University, working with colleagues in Great Britain, China and the Czech Republic have brought them one step closer.

Dr. Achintya Kumar Dutta from IIT Bombay along with his research group is working on the innovative quantum chemistry based software which is expected to be useful for radiation therapy-based treatment of cancer.

Physicists at Tomsk Polytechnic University suggested a new method to recycle spent nuclear fuel (SNF) which facilitates the extraction of precious metals, e.g. palladium, rhodium and ruthenium from nuclear waste.

A team of Indian researchers from the National Centre for Cell Science led by Dr. Amitabha Majumdar has been examining the HTT gene in fruit flies in order to understand the huntington disease in humans. The study revealed that the pathogenic Huntingtin protein causes a decrease in the overall protein production in cells.

Researchers at Osaka University are helping to power portable sensors that do not use batteries by generating electricity from heat that is otherwise wasted.

Tohoku University researchers in Japan have uncovered a molecular link between some trans fats and a variety of disorders, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Their findings, published in the journal Science Reports, implicate their role in enhancing a mitochondrial signalling pathway that leads to programmed cell death.

An extensive Nordic research project has looked at microplastics in marine bivalves from 100 sites spread throughout much of the Nordic waters. The study showed that microplastics were found in 4 of the 5 bivalve species investigated, and that there was a huge variation in the occurrence and type of microplastics.