The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences has gone in this seventeenth edition to Avelino Corma (Institute of Chemical Technology, Universitat Politècnica de València-CSIC, Spain), John F. Hartwig (University of California, Berkeley, United States) and Helmut Schwarz (Technical University of Berlin, Germany) for fundamental advances in the catalysis field, in the words of the committee, that have made it possible to “control and accelerate chemical reactions” and obtain products across multiple industrial processes, thereby “improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption.”

A flower-shaped structure only a few micrometres in size made of a nickel-iron alloy can concentrate and locally enhance magnetic fields. The size of the effect can be controlled by varying the geometry and number of 'petals'. This magnetic metamaterial developed by Dr Anna Palau's group at the Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB) in collaboration with her partners of the CHIST-ERA MetaMagIC project, has now been studied at BESSY II in collaboration with Dr Sergio Valencia. Such a device can be used to increase the sensitivity of magnetic sensors, to reduce the energy required for creating local magnetic fields, but also, at the PEEM experimental station, to study samples under much higher magnetic fields than currently possible.

Researchers have shed new light on how tissues in the body are repaired following the damage and premature death of tissue cells.

Researcher Thomas Vilgis wondered if there was a more ethical way to enjoy foie gras, so he and his colleagues created a process to replicate the dish without force-feeding ducks and geese beyond their normal diets. They treated the fat with the bird’s own lipases, mimicking the activities that occur naturally in the duck’s body, and the resultant foie gras looked correct with noninvasive laser microscopy. The team confirmed the physical properties with stress-deformation tests and found that the treated foie gras had a similar mouthfeel to the original.

In Physics of Fluids, researchers from the University of Strathclyde examine the properties of several dairy-free butter alternatives inside one of the region’s most well-known snacks: Scottish shortbread. The group tested the alternatives in their lab, selecting three types of vegan butter substitutes with different levels of fat and comparing their consistencies and responses to heat. The vegan alternative with the highest fat content behaved like butter when baked and yielded the most positive feedback in taste testing. Butter typically has a fat content around 80%, and the group recommends choosing a vegan butter with a similar consistency.

Technology developed by MIT engineers makes pesticides stick to plant leaves. With the new system, farmers could significantly cut their use of pesticides and fertilizers, saving money and reducing runoff.

The California Solar Canal Initiative will engage the public and private sectors to identify optimal locations to generate renewable energy, save water and conserve land statewide. The California Solar Canal Initiative will engage the public and private sectors to identify optimal locations to generate renewable energy, save water and conserve land statewide.