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Warwick has been shortlisted for 'University of the Year' in this year's Times Higher Education (THE) Awards.

Six universities have made the shortlist for the University of the Year award, which looks at the institution's performance in several areas such as research, teaching, access and business performance. Judges also look for specific evidence of particularly bold, imaginative and innovative initiatives that have advanced the University's reputation in the last year.

Warwick hosted a judging visit on Monday 7 September. THE editor Anne Mroz spent the day on campus, meeting a range of staff and visiting a number of departments and Centres including: the Capital Centre, Warwick Digital Laboratory, the new NMR facility and Warwick Arts Centre.

Warwick's Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Thrift said: "We are pleased to have been shortlisted for this award. Warwick has been consistently ranked as one of the UK's leading research universities and we provide a unique university experience for our students which they will remember and benefit from for years to come."

Ann Mroz, Editor, Times Higher Education, commented: "The Awards recognise the very best in higher education in the UK and we are delighted to announce that Warwick has made it onto the shortlist for University of the Year. Our senior advisory panel has been taken from all fields of academia and had to choose from hundreds of first-class entries – only the best made it through to our shortlist."

The Times Higher Education Awards, now in their fifth year, aim to recognise the cutting edge work undertaken by UK higher education institutions. Categories include Best Student Experience, Widening Participation Initiative of the Year, Outstanding Support for Overseas Students, Marketing Initiative of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community and Outstanding Support for Disabled Students.

This year's winners will be announced at the Times Higher Education Awards ceremony, held at Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London, on 15 October 2009.

Stefan Schumann, Stefan Bon, Ross Hatton and Tim Jones report in Chem.Commun: Vertical co-deposition of sub-100 nm polystyrene sphere templates with water-soluble small molecule or polymeric semiconductors, followed by solvent vapour assisted sphere removal, is shown to be an excellent method for generating porous large area organic semiconductor thin films with sub-100 nm open-cellular networks, with numerous potential applications in areas such as sensing and photovoltaics.

 

 

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b914136g

Ann Dixon and collaborators report in Journal of Virology: The bovine papillomavirus E5 protein (BPV E5) is a 44-amino acid homodimeric transmembrane protein that binds directly to the transmembrane domain of the PDGF receptor and induces ligand-independent receptor activation. Three specific features of BPV E5 are considered important for its ability to activate the PDGF receptor and transform mouse fibroblasts: a pair of C-terminal cysteines, a transmembrane glutamine, and a juxtamembrane aspartic acid. By using a new genetic technique to screen libraries expressing artificial transmembrane proteins for activators of the PDGF receptor, we isolated much smaller proteins, from 32 to 36 residues, that lack all three of these features yet still dimerize non-covalently, specifically activate the PDGF receptor via its transmembrane domain, and transform cells efficiently. The primary amino acid sequence of BPV E5 is virtually unrecognizable in some of these proteins, which share as few as seven consecutive amino acids with the viral protein. Thus, small artificial proteins that bear little resemblance to a viral oncoprotein can nevertheless productively interact with the same cellular target. We speculate that similar cellular proteins may exist but have been overlooked due to their small size and hydrophobicity.

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.00946-09

The development of atomic force microscopy (AFM) over the past 20 years has had a major impact on materials science, surface science and various areas of biology, and it is now a routine imaging tool for the structural characterization of surfaces. The lateral resolution in AFM is governed by the shape of the tip and the geometry of the apex at the end of the tip. Conventional microfabrication routes result in pyramid-shaped tips, and the radius of curvature at the apex is typically less than 10 nm. As well as producing smaller tips, AFM researchers want to develop tips that last longer, provide faithful representations of complex surface topographies, and are mechanically non-invasive. Carbon nanotubes have demonstrated considerable potential as AFM tips but they are still not widely adopted. This review traces the history of carbon nanotube tips for AFM, the applications of these tips and research to improve their performance.

 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2009.154

 

Chemists and engineers at the University of Warwick have found that exposing particular mixtures of polymer particles and other materials to sudden freeze-drying can create a high-tech armored foam that could be used for a number of purposes, including a new range of low power room temperature gas sensors.

Freeze-drying has been used to create structured foams before, the first such experiments being with rubber in the 1940s with the ice crystals formed throughout this process acting as templates to form the porous foam structure.

However when trying to create particularly strong, stable polymer foam structures engineers and chemists today tend to rely on more complicated processes. The most straightforward of these methods is the so-called foaming or expanding process, which consists of introducing small discontinuities (for example by dispersing a compressed gas) into a soft polymer and then taking a further step to reinforce the cellular structure created upon polymerization or cooling.

The University of Warwick team’s new approach to fabricate polymer foams by “ice-templating” differs from previous strategies in that they use a special range of colloids (mixtures of small particles dispersed in water), with crucial differences in their hardness and size, as key building blocks. In particular they employ a blend of larger ‘‘soft’’ polymer latexes (with diameters in range of 200–500 nm) in conjunction with a range of much smaller ‘‘hard’’ nanoparticles such as silica (with diameters in range of 25–35 nm).

When such a mixture is exposed to freeze-drying the difference in diameters induces a concentration enrichment of the smaller harder particles in the mix near the wall of each growing ice crystal. This creates a cellular structured foam in just one step in which each cell is effective given an armored layer of the smaller, harder nanoparticles. 

The Warwick researchers also found that by changing parameters, such as the nanoparticle/polymer latex ratios and concentrations, as well as the nanoparticle type, it was possible to fine-tune a certain the pore structure, and the overall porosity, of the polymer foams.  The team were also able to employ various types of inorganic nanoparticles to create this instant freeze-dry foam armoring including: silica, Laponite clay, aluminium oxide, as well as small polystyrene latex particles.

The armored polymer foams have a range of applications but one of the most interesting could be a new range of room temperature low power gas sensors. The team increased the complexity of their  mixture of colloids by the addition of a third colloidal component, carbon black particles with approximate diameters of 120 nm, which allowed them to produce an conductive foam 14% of the  weight of which was carbon black particles.

Lead researcher Dr Stefan Bon from the University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry said:

“This new process allows us to create interesting foam based nanocomposite materials which show promising results as gas sensors that can operate at room temperature and differ from traditional metal-oxide-based sensors. We know that existing chemical sensors formed from composites of carbon black particles and insulating polymers have been previously shown to form room-temperature (thus low-power) chemical sensors for detecting a range of volatile organic compounds. Now in one step we can place the same material in a high tech polymer foam to create a new range of gas-sensor devices. We believe these materials could become a new generation of sensing porous films.”

Notes to editors
The research paper entitled  “Conducting Nanocomposite Polymer Foams from Ice-Crystal-Templated Assembly of Mixtures of Colloids” by Catheline A. L. Colard, Richard A. Cave, Nadia Grossiord, James A. Covington, and Stefan A. F. Bon (all from the University of Warwick)  has just been published in Advanced Materials and features on the cover of issue 28. Adv.Mater. 2009, 21(28), 2894-2898.

Images are also available, contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, Communications Officer, University of Warwick, 02476 57422, 07824 540863, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk

 

COVENTRY, United Kingdom--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bruker Daltonics announced today the establishment of a long-term collaborative programme for developing both applications and fundamental instrument technology in the area of extreme resolution mass spectrometry.

Building on over 14 years of experience in high performance mass spectrometry at the Department of Chemistry at Warwick, the University’s recent acquisition of both the new Bruker solariX™ 12 Tesla FTMS system and the maXis™ UHR-TOF system again puts the department at the forefront of technology for high performance mass spectrometry. At the core of the new instruments are dramatic improvements, up to an order of magnitude, in previous performance standards. These advances help address the University’s most challenging analyses including very complex mixtures in applications such as chemistry, medicinal discovery, protein interactions and petroleomics.

The collaboration is unusual in that it embraces not only topical applications innovation but also fundamental instrument development, the latter headed by Warwick Professor Peter O’Connor, who recently arrived from Boston University, and is one of the world’s most accomplished FTMS instrument development scientists. “We are very excited to be able to benefit from Peter’s ideas, and have arranged a technical fast-track for his developments to appear in our FTMS products,” commented Dr. Michael Schubert, Executive Vice President for R&D at Bruker Daltonics.

Professor Peter Sadler, Head of Chemistry at the University, whose research interests focus on metals in biology and medicine, the design and mechanism of action of metallodrugs, especially the role of proteins in metal-induced signal transduction said: “In my field state-of-the-art analysis of metal speciation holds the key to major breakthroughs in understanding both how metal ions control natural biological processes, and how metal complexes can be designed as novel therapeutic agents. Moreover, this new Bruker mass spec equipment, and the associated collaboration, will allow our newly established EPSRC Warwick Centre for Analytical Science to compete strongly at the forefront of the field.”

“We are delighted that Professors Sadler and O’Connor, who both have outstanding track records in the design and implementation of cutting-edge mass spectrometry, have chosen Bruker as a supplier and collaborative partner. It is especially gratifying to see real instrument development receiving such an energetic renewal in the UK,” commented Dr. Ian Sanders, Executive Vice President for Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Bruker Daltonics.

The solariX and maXis will be highlighted at the 18^th International Mass Spectrometry Conference (www.imsc-bremen-2009.de) in Bremen, Germany from August 30 to September 4, 2009. For more information on IMSC 2009 and related Bruker Daltonics activities, please visit www.bdal.com/imsc.

ABOUT BRUKER DALTONICS

For more information about Bruker Daltonics and Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR - News), please visit www.bdal.com and www.bruker.com.

 Professor Gregory Challis has been awarded The 2009 Gabor Medal by the Royal Society, the UK’s independent academy for science.

Greg Challis, Professor of Chemical Biology in the Department of Chemistry, received the medal and £1000 prize for his highly interdisciplinary work exploiting the genomics of Streptomyces coelicolor to identify new natural products and biosynthetic enzymes.

The silver gilt medal is named after Nobel Prize-winner Professor Dennis Gabor FRS and is awarded biennially for acknowledged distinction in interdisciplinary work between the life sciences and other disciplines.

Professor Challis said: “I am delighted that I have been selected to receive the 2009 Gabor Medal. Natural products continue to play important roles in society, for example as life-saving medicines, environmentally benign pesticides and drugs that enhance the quality of our daily lives. It is wonderful that the importance of ongoing research into natural products has been recognised by the Royal Society.

"As is often the case in modern science, many people contributed to the research recognised by this award. It has been my privilege to work with a talented team of postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and collaborators over the past eight years at Warwick and I am fortunate to have benefited from the support of my family, as well as many colleagues across the University. Warwick Chemistry has established a reputation for research excellence at the interface of Chemistry and Biology which involves numerous vibrant and dynamic research groups working in several different fields. It is gratifying that this has been recognised by the UK’s premier scientific society.”

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, Communications Officer, University of Warwick, 02476 150483, 07824 540863, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk

Greg Challis wins the RSC Hickinbottom Award for his contributions to the "exploitation of genomics, for the discovery of novel bioactive natural products, and for mechanistic studies on enzymes that catalyse key steps in pathogenicity-conferring siderophore biosynthesis."

The University of Warwick is bringing forward by a year £2 million of its capital spending as part of a package of measures to assist the local Midlands economy.

The University has been able to do this thanks to a scheme by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to assist Universities to bring forward  capital projects that have been specially selected to have a positive effect on the local and national economy, in particular for the construction industry. The £2 million programme will refurbish some of the University's chemistry laboratories to create state of the art environments for students, which will be used for teaching and outreach to secondary schools. 

John Denham, Secretary of State for Higher Education, said:  

“I am delighted that Warwick University has been awarded almost £2m for refurbishment of chemistry teaching laboratories. This project will secure local jobs for those in vital building and construction work. 

“This funding is part of a wider Government initiative to bring forward £3bn of funding for important public sector projects and will bring real benefits to students and the public alike. Higher Education has an important role to play in supporting businesses, especially during the downturn.”

This is not the only action the University is taking to assist the economy.  Despite the current challenging economic conditions The University has also committed to press on with its overall £200 million pound capital spending programme which should also assist the construction industry. 

The University is also mindful that small local construction firms find difficulty in participating in tenders for large construction projects and will therefore soon also announce a simpler tender process that could create a roster of smaller local companies to work on range for smaller building work projects that would total several million pounds worth of business.  Once the details of the scheme have been finalised the University will also announce a special event for those companies to see the details of how the scheme will operate.The University has outlined some of its range of support for local businesses and people during these challenging economic times at: 

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/business/regionalsupport

For further information please contact: 

Peter Dunn, Press and Media Relations Manager, Communications Office,
University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL
024 76 523708 or 07767 655860 email: p.j.dunn@warwick.ac.uk

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found how a citric acid-based Achilles heel used by a pathogen that attacks the popular African Violet house plant could be exploited not just to save African Violets but also to provide a potentially effective treatment for Anthrax.The researchers examined how a chemical structure is assembled in a bacterial pathogen called Pectobacterium chrysanthemi (Dickya dadantii) that afflicts plants – particularly the African Violet which often appears in many homes as a decorative houseplant.Like many bacteria Pectobacterium chrysanthemi competes with its host for iron. Without a supply of this essential nutrient the bacterium cannot grow. The University of Warwick researchers Dr Nadia Kadi, Dr Daniel Oves-Costales, Dr Lijiang Song and Professor Gregory Challis worked with colleagues at St Andrews University to examine how a "siderophore", one of the key tools the bacterium uses to harvest iron is assembled. They discovered how an enzyme catalyst in the assembly of this particular siderophore – called achromobactin – binds citric acid, a vital iron-binding component of the structure. Their findings show that this chemical pathway could be blocked or inhibited to prevent the bacterium from harvesting iron, essentially starving it.

While an interesting piece of science in itself and of even more interest to owners of African Violet houseplants the Warwick research team found that this work also has major implications for the treatment of several virulent and even deadly mammalian infections including Anthrax.

View original image">A second piece of research conducted by three of the University of Warwick researchers (Dr Daniel Oves-Costales, Dr Lijiang Song and Professor Gregory L. Challis ) found that the deadly pathogen which causes Anthrax in humans uses an enzyme to incorporate citric acid into another siderophore that is very similar to the one used by the African Violet pathogen. The researchers showed that both enzymes recognise citric acid in the same way. This means a common strategy could be used to block both the Anthrax and African Violet pathogen siderophore synthesis pathways.

Professor Greg Challis from the University of Warwick said:

"Inhibiting this citric acid-based process could be even more effective in combating an anthrax infection than it would be in combating the African violet pathogen, because the African Violet pathogen has a second siderophore that can harvest iron from the host and could attempt to struggle on with just this, whereas the anthrax pathogen appears not to have such a back up mechanism."

Chemistry researchers at the University of Warwick have found that tiny nanoparticles could be twice as likely to stick to the interface of two non mixing liquids than previously believed. This opens up a range of new possibilities for the uses of nanoparticles in living cells, polymer composites, and high-tech foams, gels, and paints. The researchers are also working on ways of further artificially enhancing this new found sticking power.

In a paper entitled "Interaction of nanoparticles with ideal liquid-liquid interfaces" just published in Physical Review Letters the University of Warwick researchers reviewed molecular simulations of the interaction between a non-charged nanoparticle and an "ideal" liquid-liquid interface. They were surprised to find that very small nanoparticles (of around 1 to 2 nanometres) varied considerably in their simulated ability to stick to such interfaces from what was expected in the standard model.