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Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

The Queen's younger sister, Princess Margaret (shown with Lord Todd), opened the new Chemistry Laboratory on Lensfield Road in 1958.

The Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty The Queen.


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Plant sale for Mind mental health charity

Nathan Pitt ©University of Cambridge

On August 16th, Dr Alexander Forse hosted a plant sale, selling over 70 plants, the proceeds of which went to Mind charity for mental health. The event raised over £700.


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New metric to measure ozone recovery

Researchers prepare to launch an instrument measuring ozone depleting substances, Brazil

Scientists here have proposed a comprehensive new way to monitor the international agreement which protects the ozone layer.


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AI detects toxic drugs

Pills, John Holman ©University of Cambridge

The Bender group, in collaboration with Uppsala University, has built a machine learning model that takes measurements from human cells and can make predictions about drug safety.


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Team ICE test triathlon skills for WaterAid

ICE group members did the Triathlon to support WaterAid

Members of Professor Angelos Michaelides’ ICE group once again swam, ran and bicycled in support of WaterAid at the Castle Howard Triathlon in July. 


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Chemistry tops Physics

The Chemistry and Physics Cricket Teams - in their element

It's official: Chemistry tops Physics -- in cricket, that is.


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Floating ‘artificial leaves’ ride the wave of clean fuel production

An artificial leaf floats on the River Cam near King's College Chapel, courtesy UofCambridge

Researchers here have developed floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water, and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.


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Professor Mary McPartlin 1932 - 2022

Profess Mary McPartlin, who passed away in July, enjoyed solving difficult problems

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Professor Mary McPartlin at the age of 89.


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Supercharging the electric revolution

Professor Dame Clare Grey, who co-founded Nyobolt, courtesy University of Cambridge

In July 2022 Chemistry spin-out Nyobolt announced the initial close of £50 million funding in its Series B round which will enable it to enter a stage of manufacturing at scale.


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Artificial Intelligence ‘IcePic’ outperforms humans in predicting ice crystal formation

Different molecular structuress fed into the IcePic deep learning AI, The ICE Group

Three scientists signed their names on a research paper but there was a secret fourth member: IcePic (Ice Pictures), a deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) with a unique job: deciphering pictures of ice crystal formation.


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Naming ceremony honours Dr Hamied

Dr Yusuf Hamied and University of Cambridge Vice-Chacellor Stephen J. Toope at the renaming ceremony

A special ceremony was held on the 7th of July to celebrate the naming of the Department, and to thank Dr Yusuf Hamied and his wife Farida for their generous support.


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A chemist’s guide to metal-organic architecture

Professor Nitschke and group members were productive over lockdown

Lockdown was a time for making banana bread, exercising with Joe Wicks or starting a new hobby -- unless you were in the Nitschke lab, where researchers used the time to compile a handbook of metal-organic capsules.


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New “chemical antibody” provides insight into origins of Parkinson’s disease

Dr Margarida Dias Rodrigues working in the lab

Researchers have designed a new ‘chemical antibody’ that will help them understand the origins of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.


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New approach topples major barrier to commercialisation of organic flow batteries

Solar panel close up Credit: Andriy Onufriyenko via Getty Images

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Harvard have developed a method to extend the lifetime of organic aqueous flow batteries, improving their commercial viability to safely and cheaply store energy from renewable sources.


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'Masked' cancer-killing drugs avoid harming healthy cells

First author Dr Lavinia Dunsmore in Cambridge

Researchers here have found a way to avoid the toxicity of some plant-derived cancer-killing drugs by 'masking' their toxicity until they reach their targets, potentially leading to more effective cancer therapies.