Neil Withers

Jan 22, 2024 | chemistryworld.com | Neil Withers

After molecular and DNA editing, polymers get the attention Our feature on polymer editing follows a recent theme in chemistry research. We covered molecular editing in the feature section last year (see Editing the structure of molecules), and obviously tapped into the science zeitgeist, as articles on a very similar theme appear later in the year in both Nature and The Observer.

Jan 4, 2024 | chemistryworld.com | Neil Withers

The polymer expert on power imbalances and following her instinctJulia Kornfield is the Elizabeth W Gilloon professor of chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology in the US. Her group studies the macroscopic properties of polymers on a molecular level, aiming to create new functions for a range of applications from fuel safety to biomedicine.

Dec 22, 2023 | web.archive.org | Neil Withers

The University ChallengeStory - Part I                                           It all started a long time ago, in theyear 2000, when the Durham University Intercollegiate University Challengestyle knockout thing started. You see, to choose the University teameach college picks a team and then there’s a knockout competition to determinethe best team and hence the best people to be in the Uni team.

Oct 2, 2023 | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani |Julia Robinson |Neil Withers |Philip Robinson

Source: © Nobel Prize Outreach/Niklas Elmehed The 2023 Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for their work on techniques that enable scientists to track the movement of electrons on ultrafast timescales. The Nobel committee that picked the winners cited the trio’s work on ‘experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter’.

Oct 2, 2023 | chemistryworld.com | Derek Lowe |Julia Robinson |Anthony J. King |Neil Withers

Discussions about about food safety need to be sensible, not sensationalistIf you’re the sort of person who enjoys starting arguments, the topic of food safety is your ever-faithful friend. Everyone eats, and everyone has an opinion about what they eat and about all that weird stuff that other people are willing to put in their mouths. You’d think that the principle of de gustibus non disputandum est (there’s no accounting for taste) would forestall a lot of the wrangling, but look around you.