Author

Catharine Paddock 273 posts

Catharine has been writing news and web content for 10 years. Prior to that, her career spans technical authorship, training, human resource management, psychotherapy, stress and career counselling, and small business mentoring. In 2008, she gained a PhD from Manchester Business School after completing her own research and presenting a thesis on psychosocial factors in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). She has a Joint Hons Bachelor of Science in Physics with Chemistry from the University of Manchester (1975).

Microrobots to locate and fix underground leaks, reduce roadworks

Jan 21, 2019

The United Kingdom government are investing £7 million in a research programme to develop microrobots that locate and fix leaks in underground water and sewage pipes. Digging up roads in order to…

Marine bacteria protect steel from corrosion by seawater

Jan 20, 2019

There is a way to use marine bacteria to protect steel from corrosion by seawater, according to new research from China. Scientists at the Shanghai Maritime University and the South China Sea…

Plant immunity map could help breed more resilient crops

Jan 14, 2019

Scientists have mapped the molecular pathways of plant immunity. The breakthrough could help to breed crops that resist pests and diseases more effectively. When plants sustain damage from an…

Scientists explore long-term carbon storage by soil minerals

Jan 13, 2019

Soil minerals have the potential to hold large amounts of carbon drawn from the atmosphere. But could the mechanism help to tackle the challenges of climate change? Two soil scientists in the…

Modified photosynthesis increases crop yield

Jan 6, 2019

Scientists have found a way to increase crop yield without plants having to use more energy or resources. It involves modifying the process of photosynthesis so that it does the same job more…

Water company’s large-scale battery storage to use ‘second life’ EV batteries

Dec 26, 2018

Northumbrian Water are to pilot large-scale battery storage on some of its sites in the United Kingdom. The scheme will use "second life" lithium-ion batteries recovered from Renault electric…

Fingerprint recognition could be vulnerable to AI attack

Dec 9, 2018

Device manufacturers need to get smarter about security systems that rely on fingerprint recognition. The systems could be vulnerable to attack by artificial intelligence (AI), say researchers. A…

Study probes misinformation spread by Twitter bots in 2016 US election

Nov 30, 2018

A recent study has investigated the role that Twitter bots played in spreading misinformation in the period surrounding the 2016 United States presidential election. Researchers at Indiana…

Heat process converts human excrement into fuel and fertilizer

Nov 19, 2018

Scientists have developed a heat process that cooks human excrement under pressure to produce a reusable, safe fuel and a rich fertilizer. The groundbreaking research comes from Ben-Gurion…

Aerogel made from recycled plastic bottles has many ‘exciting uses’

Nov 10, 2018

Engineers in Singapore have found a way to recycle plastic bottles into a highly versatile "supermaterial." They see uses ranging from gas masks that absorb carbon dioxide to safe and light coats for…

Could fine-tuning this gene make crops more resistant to disease?

Nov 3, 2018

The discovery of a new plant gene could advance the search for ways to improve resistance to disease in crops. The previously unknown gene is called SRG1 and plays a key role in controlling the…

Green rechargeable battery breaks cost barrier

Oct 13, 2018

The manufacturer of a green rechargeable battery says its technology is ready to provide developing countries with cheap affordable carbon-free energy. NantEnergy informed the recent One Planet…

Can bees become ‘addicted’ to pesticide?

Sep 8, 2018

New research on how bees respond to pesticide over time supports the idea that the pollinating insects could become addicted to it. Scientists from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom…

‘Squid-inspired’ programmable biomaterial switches between insulating and cooling

Aug 27, 2018

Scientists have invented a programmable biomaterial that can switch from insulating to cooling and back again depending on how much water is present. They see the programmable biomaterial - which…

Female pilots: Aviation industry lagging in ‘pilot gender equality’

Aug 19, 2018

The percentage of female pilots is very low and growing only slowly, according to an organization that analyzes aviation trends. The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) say that they are not encouraged by…

Flow battery on course to provide large-scale renewable energy storage

Aug 8, 2018

By developing a new organic compound, scientists at Harvard have created a flow battery that could one day help power utilities make more use of wind and solar energy. Utilities that operate the…

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