09 Apr, 2024 Coloured artificial leather invented, with both the leather and the colour created by bacteria By Donald McNab Artificial leather, sometimes referred to as faux or vegan leather is changing. Many artificial leathers are based on artificial polymers...
08 Apr, 2024 FDA Approval for Recycled Plastics in Food-Grade Packaging By Peter Youle There have been significant advances in the recycling of plastics, reducing both the need for new plastics and the volume of plastic...
28 Feb, 2024 Polymer backbone editing - a Pandora's box By Kirsteen Gordon I recently came across this article in Chemistry World and really liked the idea it presents. It really is true to say that the vast...
13 Feb, 2024 Seaweed: Catnip for the Catwalk? By Kate Appleby Start spreading the news… it's fashion week in New York and I happen to be here! Although I didn't come for the couture, I have already...
11 Dec, 2023 Turning seaweed into sofas (and how patent searching can help research) By Mairi Rudkin This BBC article presents yet another example of a biological material that can be used as a sustainable substitute for fossil...
24 Nov, 2023 Science IS fashionable By Kirsteen Gordon Quite remarkably I have found myself becoming more interested in fashion. So why is it, after nearly 50 years of being very happy in my...
16 Aug, 2023 Combination of technologies increases incentive for plastic recycling By Donald McNab Most people would probably agree that recycling is a good thing but how to actually achieve this is easier said than done. Kerbside...
09 Aug, 2022 Funding secured to turn site of coal-fired power station into the UK’s first-ever full-scale Gigaplant By Kate Appleby Britishvolt has had government funding approved for its proposed £3.8bn battery factory, which is to be situated on the site of Blyth...
27 May, 2022 Fantastic plastics By Emma Foster Yesterday I attended the Cambridge Network event “Making plastics fantastic (again!): From discovery science to industrial application”...
08 Mar, 2022 Harvesting with hydrogels By Mairi Rudkin As a patent attorney working in chemistry and the life sciences, I see a lot of patent applications relating to hydrogels come across my...
02 Mar, 2022 ExxonMobil's first commercial sale of certified circular polymers for food packaging By Kate Appleby ExxonMobil has completed its first commercial sale of certified circular polymers, produced using ExxonMobil's Exxtend technology for...
16 Feb, 2022 Call for ambitious global treaty to tackle plastic pollution By Kate Appleby Whilst most people do want to do their bit for the planet, they also want to be able to live easily on their income. Making it easier and...