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Fatbergs: The monster lurking below

博客 - If you haven’t been paying attention to sewer-related news throughout the past few years, you might have missed that fatbergs are a thing. Large (sometimes hundreds of metres long), congealed lumps of fat and other substances, fatbergs have been clogging up the sewer systems under major cities like London, Melbourne, Baltimore and Cardiff.

Accelerating rice improvement in South Asia

博客 - Rice is a crucial staple food for about half a billion people in Asia, but it suffers from diseases that reduce yields, destroy harvests and put food security and livelihoods at risk. But there is hope – by tracking DNA markers of natural genetic variants through generations of crosses, breeders can identify better combinations that enrich crop vitality and resilience leading to more reliable and sustainable rice production.

Peanut allergen quantification: a tough nut to crack

博客 - Peanut allergy is the most common cause of fatal food allergy reaction. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly identifies peanut proteins as something harmful. The fear of accidental exposure in food reduces the quality of life of peanut allergy sufferers and severely limits the social habits of allergic individuals, their families and even their friends.

Revolutionising cancer treatment one Array at a time

博客 - Pharmacogenetics, or the study of how people respond differently to medicines due to their genetics, is making a splash lately thanks to companies like Minneapolis, MN-based OneOme, which co-developed its RightMed test with Mayo Clinic

Food chain resilience in a changing world

博客 - A few weeks ago, we were joined by experts and industry leaders at our biennial Government Chemist Conference, and this year’s theme was ‘Food chain resilience in a changing world’. Attendees were treated to a variety of presentations about food chain resilience from Food Standards Agency, Public Health England, the European Commission’s Joint Research Council, Cambridge University, and many others.

What’s funny about your honey?

博客 - Honey is known to have multiple health and nutritional benefits and is in high demand among consumers. However, due to the declining numbers of bees, the impact of weather conditions on supply and the high costs production, honey is expensive, which makes it a prime target for economically-motivated food fraud.

Food Safety Week and beyond: LGC’s long history in food testing

博客 - Food Safety Week, organised by the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA), is an opportunity to learn more about current food issues, including food crime, compliance and food hygiene. This year’s campaign celebrates “the people who protect your plate”

The National Measurement Laboratory turns 30!

博客 - The UK was one of the pioneers within the global measurement community to recognise the need to address the new and developing challenges of measurement across chemistry and biology.

World Metrology Day: Setting the standard for measurement

博客 - This Sunday, 20th May, is World Metrology Day, the birthday of the signing of the Metre Convention of 20 May 1875 (and pretty much the best day of the year for measurement scientists like us). 

Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis: the end of the guessing game?

博客 - There are currently around 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, and the number of people affected is expected to reach 2 million by 2051. The costs associated with dementia, estimated now at £26 billion a year, are likely to treble.