Tim Wogan
After initially planning to study English at university, I decided that, just in case I turned out not to be the next Hillary Mantel, it might be better to devote my life to my other great love – science, where I believed I was sure to make great discoveries. Three years studying physics at Cambridge University disabused me thoroughly of that notion, and, having learned that I was never going to make a notable discovery of my own in a world full of infinitely better scientists than I was, I decided to return to plan A and make my living writing about theirs instead. I studied science communication at Imperial College London and, after a brief internship as a reporter on the European news desk of Science, I’ve been writing freelance. Since 2019, I’ve been living in the US.
ResearchQuantum tunnelling harnessed to radically improve efficiency of separation of deuterium from water
Electrochemical approach counterintuitively relies on making water’s bonds stronger
ResearchRising carbon dioxide levels leave conifer forests struggling to get enough nitrogen
Discovery implies boreal forests will grow slower and sequester less carbon
ResearchHeat waves that push up atmospheric nanoparticle levels might explain higher death tolls
Counter-intuitive finding suggests particle formation from natural and anthropogenic organic compounds might increase during extreme heat events
Research‘Almost impossible to destroy’: material captures CO2 and frees it at the flick of a photoswitch
New class of porous materials can trap gases and release them on command
ResearchPurer silicon lets robust quantum computing get started on a new medium
System is highly accurate and amenable to scaling without compromising quality
ResearchAI tool dramatically reduces computing power needed to find protein-binding molecules
New protocol is up to 10 million times faster than current docking-based methods
ResearchInsulating window material prevents heat loss while allowing more light through than glass
Easy to make polymer could be used for energy efficient buildings
ResearchInorganic homologous series forms solids with predictable structures
Newly uncovered structure–composition relationship could help to improve AI’s ability to predict new inorganic materials
ResearchRevived claims that antibiotics don’t kill bacteria with reactive oxygen prove controversial
Researchers say that multiple lines of evidence for hypothesis have now been undermined
ResearchNew MOF binds two gas molecules at each metal site
Rare co-operative adsorption mechanism enables metal–organic framework to bind two carbon monoxide molecules at each metal centre
Research2D polymer films approach exceptional impermeability of pristine graphene
Spin-coated polyaramids could protect food and solar cells from air
ResearchPhysicists hope to probe standard model with misshapen radium monofluoride
Effect never observed in a molecule could help adjudicate between competing models of nuclear structure
ResearchWater squeezed into 2D channels conducts electricity 100,000 times better
Network of quasi-2D hydrogen bonding may be responsible for effect
ResearchElectron transfer plays an underappreciated role in battery charging cycles
Ion transfer alone does not explain charging and discharging rates of lithium-ion batteries
ResearchAI enables quicker search for MOFs to soak up carbon dioxide
Thousands of candidates screened allowing the best to be investigated experimentally
ResearchNew adhesive is so sticky it can glue a rubber duck to a seaside rock
Features of 25,000 biological adhesives analysed to create glues stronger than any found in nature
ResearchClathrate material’s crystal structure finally solved, 80 years after it was first discovered
TBAB hydrate is the most widely used semiclathrate hydrate, with potential uses in heat storage and air conditioning
ResearchElectrochemistry cleans up nitrate-contaminated water without costly, toxic metals
Atomically-dispersed iron in woven carbon nanotube framework allows breakdown of pollutants
Research‘Microlightning’ released by peeling tape can drive chemical reactions
Intense localised electric fields can break bonds
ResearchPath to carbon dioxide-based chemicals smoothed with a dash of acid
Hydrochloric acid dissolves salts that gum-up reaction process