
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.
- Research
Liquid metal boosts platinum catalyst’s activity 1000 times
Gallium containing single platinum atoms outperforms solid platinum catalysts in electrochemical methanol oxidation
- Research
Organometallic boost pushes perovskite solar cells to record efficiency, stability
Device survives 1000 hours of solar illumination with minimal power loss bringing commercialisation of cheaper cells closer
- Research
Spotlight shone on sped up photochemical reactions in droplets
Light can produce ‘hot spots’ in aerosols that supercharge reaction rates
- Research
Radiation discovered to be a major overlooked source of natural gas generation in shales
Uranium and thorium may be responsible for producing a significant portion of hydrocarbons in some fracking wells
- Research
Plasmonic catalyst smashes record for reducing vital chemical feedstock
Chalcogenide catalyses reduction of nitroaromatics used in everything from paints, plastics and pharmaceuticals
- Research
Solar cells kept clean of dust and dirt with electrostatic wipe down
Electrode adaptation repels dust and could save billions of litres of water and millions in maintenance costs
- Research
Magnetic fields can have a huge impact on reactivity of ultracold molecules
Probability of a reaction occurring increases 100-fold and points to quantum control of chemistry
- Research
Epigenetic MRI offers a way to understand how the brain learns
First tests in humans could be as little as year away, researchers claim
- Research
New phenomenon ‘quantum friction’ explains water’s bizarre properties
Theory offers explanation why water behaves oddly when flowing through nanoscale carbon-based channels
- Research
Robotic production line gives 2D materials a twist to produce multilayer structures
Precise fabrication of heterostructures with up to 80 layers will allow exploration of these materials’ exotic properties
- Research
Single-celled marine organism first to be found releasing oxygen in the dark
Discovery of new biological pathway in widespread archaea could transform understanding of oceans’ fertility
- Feature
How elements are made beyond the stars
Tim Wogan looks at what recent astronomical discoveries have added to our understanding of stellar nucleosynthesis, and the mysteries that remain
- Research
Algorithm out of Google’s DeepMind finesses DFT calculations
Machine learning creates algorithm that avoids large errors in solutions to certain problems
- News
James Webb Space Telescope poised to provide insight into chemical evolution of universe
Launch later this month could provide new understanding of exoplanets and the origins of heavier elements
- Research
Perovskite frozen in MOF glass glows in rainbow colours
Porous material preserves lead halide perovskite’s luminescent form while tailoring emission colour
- Research
Flawless quasicrystals may be possible to synthesise simply
Cutting misalignment should allow perfect structures to form
- Research
Squeezed crystal becomes better catalyst
Fine-tuning platinum’s lattice strain with removable atomic spacers boosts its catalytic activity by up to 50%
- Research
Tiny shear forces have big effect on protein reactions
Proteins react faster under the forces they experience when they squeeze through blood vessels
- Research
New process could turn scrap metal into hi-tech steel in demand for cars and alloys
Ultra-low carbon steel created electrochemically
- Research
Semimetal study links spiral magnetism to Weyl fermions
Findings may help explain spatial modulations seen in the magnetism of other rare earth intermetallic compounds