Karen Steward PhD

Science Writer

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Pandemic Lockdown Gives Preview of Attainable Air Quality

Satellite data reveals how rapidly and markedly the harmful compounds polluting our atmosphere drop off when humanity grinds to a halt. The ongoing pandemic lockdown highlights just how much our industrialized areas contribute to air pollution problems, but what lessons can be learnt?

Out of Academia a Sensor Star Is Born

As technology becomes smarter and smaller, scientists and engineers are looking to miniaturize and mobilize the testing required to keep our industries going. One such company, Lantha Sensors, was born out of academic research into new metal organic frameworks.

Degassing Technology That Could Improve HPLC and Laboratory Efficiency

In the world of analytical chemistry, liquid chromatography has become indispensable in the analyst’s toolbox. Decades of research and refinement have brought many advances, which begs the question, where else can improvements be made?

New Immune Cell on the Block During Viral Lung Infections

Scientists have identified a novel group of immune cells in the lungs that are associated with the control of inflammation during viral infections, like influenza or possibly coronavirus. This discovery may help to advance the development of therapeutics to treat inflammation-related lung conditions such as bronchitis, influenza and potentially even COVID-19.

A Hidden Hazard in Our Drinking Water

So-called “legacy” PFAS are potentially harmful to health and consequently analysts have been looking to detect them in consumer products such as drinking water. We spoke to Dr Katherine C. Hyland from SCIEX, about sources of PFAS that are contaminating our water system, the hazards posed to consumers and the outlook for detection and prevention strategies.

Is a Herd Immunity Approach to the Coronavirus Outbreak a Viable Option?

It has been estimated that 60% of the population would need to be infected for herd immunity to be achieved, clearly leading to many deaths. But what is herd immunity and could it realistically be a viable option in tackling the current coronavirus pandemic?

Screening Strategies for Toxicants in Industrial Wastewater

With an increasing amount of industrial wastewater being discharged, methods to identify toxicants are urgently needed for source control and quality management. We spoke to authors of a recent article that examined the success of an extended suspect screening strategy to identify characteristic toxicants in the discharge of a chemical industrial park.

Are We Heading for a Coronavirus Pandemic?

The coronavirus outbreak looks set-in for the long haul, with new strong holds and cases cropping in a constant stream. A question mark has also been raised over the possibility of re-infection. Officials and health authorities are doing their best to try and limit the spread but it requires the cooperation of the public.

How Bad Is the Coronavirus Outbreak Becoming?

The short answer is, in terms of deaths at least, the current coronavirus outbreak is not as bad as it was initially predicted. However, researchers are working tirelessly as new data becomes available to refine models vital for disease management.

Latest on Coronavirus Outbreak

As the novel coronavirus, that originated in Wuhan, China continues its global march, the first two cases have been confirmed in the UK. This brings the number of affected countries to 24, although all 213 deaths have thus far been isolated to China.