Resonance: Issue 11

Resonance Issue 11 | Autumn 2019

The University of Sheffield’s Chemistry News Team CAMO CHEMISTRY A guide to blending in.

BIOLUMINESCENCE How do animals glow?

ANIMAL MAGNETISM Their sixth sense?

Resonance

The University of Sheffield’s Chemistry News Team Editor Josh Nicks Design Editor Josh Nicks Social Media Coordinator James Shipp

Contributing Authors Josh Nicks James Shipp Jenny Train Freya Cleasby David Ashworth Stephen O. Aderinto t Copy Editors Josh Nicks James Shipp Dr Jona Foster Prof Anthony J. H. M. Meijer

Email chem-news@sheffield.ac.uk

Printers Print and Design Solutions Bolsover Street Sheffield S3 7NA

Resonance

Resonance is a biannual newsletter produced by chemistry students at the University of Sheffield. It aims to provide insights and unheard stories from the department, as well as to engage its readers with issues in the wider scientific world.

Editorial

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his issue will be my last as editor, as I will be handing over to Courtney Thompson from now I’ve really enjoyed my time with Resonance, it has been a fantastic experience to read all the brilliant articles written by our students.

My main aim as editor has been to give students in our department a chance to see what working in science communication can be like, as well as to show off all the great things that happen here. I’ve had a lot of different people write for me, from A-level students to undergraduates, and from PhD students to post-doctoral researchers. It’s been fantastic to see the variety of perspectives and takes on the chemistry around us.

This issue will discuss all things fauna, as we focus on how chemistry plays a vital role in the lives of animals. From the seen to the very much unseen, James Shipp has written an insightful article on the chemistry of bioluminescence, while Freya Cleasby tells us about how animals use chemistry to camouflage themselves. The science is not always how it seems, as Jenny Train explains in an article on the phenomenon of magnetoreception in animals across the world.

Much has happened in the Department of Chemistry since the last issue was released, and it is all covered in our News section. There have been many awards and prizes for our teaching staff, our postgraduate researchers, and our undergraduate students alike.

I’m very thankful for having had the opportunity to look after Resonance for the past two years, and I can honestly say that I’ve learnt a lot more about chemistry (and publishing) than I ever would have otherwise.

Beth left me with a really fantastic magazine to bring together, and I hope I’m doing the same now. I’m very happy to be passing the torch to Courtney, and look forward to seeing her unique take.

Happy reading, and good luck Courtney!

Joshua Nicks

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Contents

On the Cover

3 Camo Chemistry Freya Cleasby talks us through how animals like cuttlefish and chameleons use chemistry to give themselves an edge in the wild.

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In This Issue Editorial Camo Chemistry

An in-depth read into the phenomenon of bioluminescence, and how many marine animals use it to both attract and repel.

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3-4

Venom Chem

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Spider Science

6

Bioluminescence

7-8

Animal Magnetism

9-10

Elemental Factfile: Zinc

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Departmental News

11-14

A Pint of Science

15-16

Kitchen Chemistry

17

Events and Seminars

18

This Semester in Pictures

The Chemistry of Bioluminescence

1

Back

Check Us Out @resonancenews @SheffieldChem @sheffield.chem The University of Sheffield University of Sheffield Chemistry Alumni @Resonance_Sheff chem-news@sheffield.ac.uk

Animal Magnetism In this article, Jenny Train details the sense of magnetoreception, and why it is vital to so many living organisms.

www http://bit.ly/2weV7M1

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Feature

Camo Chemistry

by Freya Cleasby

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n nature, evading and escaping predators is an essential skill, which allows animals to live and reproduce and allows their species to survive. One of the most widespread and unique adaptations which animals have developed to avoid being devoured is hiding from their predators using camouflage. Here, we describe the many ways in which Chemistry helps animals go from hunted to hidden.

Some animals use chemistry to simply help them blend into their environment.

There are two classes of biological pigment, or chromatophores, responsible for the colour of living organisms: biochromes and structural

colours. Biochromes include true pigments, conjugated molecules such as carotenoids and pteridines. They selectively absorb specific wavelengths of light and reflect others to give their apparent colour. Structural colours are microscopic physical structures that use a combination of refraction,

scattering and diffraction to reflect certain colours. Polar bears appearing to have white fur is an example of this. Their translucent hairs cause light to bounce around so that it is mostly reflected back, giving the white colour, and concealing their black skin underneath.

Examples of biochrome molecules: beta-carotene (left) and pteridine (right), the conjugated single and double bonds are what give rise to their intense colours.

Other animals have evolved to actively manipulate the chromatophores in their skin.

Some do this by contracting and relaxing the individual muscles surrounding the chromatophore cells. This then causes the cells to change shape, between flattened wide disks and small globular blobs.

The disks are much easier to see, so by constricting all the cells of one pigment and relaxing cells with others the animal can essentially choose the overall colour of its body. This is how cephalopods, such as cuttlefish and octopi, change their colours.

In vertebrates, such as frogs and lizards, it is melanophores that are crucial for colour change. These cells contain the

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melanin pigment. When this pigment is aggregated at the centre of the cell the skin appears very pale. However, when the melanin is dispersed to the long “arms” of these cells, which extend towards the surface of the skin, the animal will instead appear dark.

This technique is used to conceal or reveal other chromatophores in the skin.

Additionally, research conducted in 2014 indicates that there is another mechanism via which chameleons, in particular, control their colours.

This second mechanism involves the top layer of their skin, which contains guanine nanocrystals. By changing the spacing between these nanocrystals, the wavelengths of light which are reflected or absorbed are altered, leading to a colour change in the skin.

In addition, some animal species change the colour of their skin by altering their diet. An amazing example of this is when a nudibranch feeds from particular species of coral, and the pigments from that coral are How melanophores control skin colour deposited in their skin, making the by moving their melanin from their animal the same colour as the coral. cores, to their long arms.

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Animals which have evolved to manipulate the chromatophores in their skins by different mechanisms. From left to right and top to bottom: a cuttlefish, a chameleon, and two nudibranchs.

The final way an animal can disguise itself is my masquerading as something else.

Two of the most well known examples, stick insects and katydids, have mastered this by making themselves look like plants. Other animals use more aggressive mimicry to scare their predators. A terrific example

of this is the hawk moth caterpillar, which looks like a snake head, and certainly frightens most animals that prey on moths. Slightly different versions of this can be found in many ecosystems, where non-poisonous species have developed the same bright colouration as poisonous animals, so that predators steer clear to avoid a mouthful of venom. This is

An example of a katydid (top) and a hawk moth caterpillar (bottom).

known as aposematism mimicry, and is best exemplified by the red milk snake, which has evolved to mimic the genuinely venomous coral snake.

Next time you visit a zoo, remember that chemistry plays a large part in the colours and appearances of many of the animals you might (or might not) see!

The venomous coral snake (top) and the red milk snake (bottom) which has evolved to mimic its aposematic colours.

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Insight

Venom Chem

by David Ashworth

Can you really milk a snake?

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hat started out 170 million years ago as a relatively modest blend of simple proteins has evolved to become a horrendous cocktail of hundreds of compounds. Venom consists of many chemical components familiar to the undergraduate chemist: proteins, enzymes, lipids, steroids, aminopolysaccharides, amines, and quinines, to name but a few. The vast array of chemistry within this mix

means that most venoms have wildly different effects on their victims.

Venom used by snakes, like the King Cobra, has a higher concentration of enzymes including esterases, which result in severe effects on the nervous system. In contrast, the higher concentration of endopeptidases in viper species result in venom that acts as a somatic toxin, having more of an effect on the victims body. The effects

of human contact with venomous creatures can be instantaneous, which has led the majority of us to recoil in fear when faced with a snake, or has taught us to know to avoid contact with potentially venomous spiders.

But in light of the concoction of chemistry contained within these deadly mixes, should they really be avoided at all costs?

Did you know?

Captopril emulates the function of the toxin found in Brazilian pit viper venom and was the first successful pharmaceutical obtained from venoms. Captopril is an ACE inhibitor (angiotensin converting enzyme) used to treat heart failure, and was approved by the FDA in 1981.

A bite from a venomous lizard – the Gila monster, native to the South West of the USA, would cause nausea, fever, and faintness, amongst other more serious effects. However, a chemical called exendin 4 can be isolated from its venom. This hormone triggers one of the body’s insulin-producing

The Gila monster, a venomous lizard native to North America

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pathways, which makes it ideal for treating type 2 diabetes. A synthetic version (exenatide, a 39-amino acid peptide) of the compound has been in medical use since 2005.

As we come to have a greater understanding of biological pathways, and the chemistry that influences them, drug molecules are becoming more and more bioinspired. Biotech and pharmaceuitcal industries are now starting to use biological molecules as starting points for lead-generation.

This success begs the question, why start from scratch when nature has been doing the hard work for millennia? Companies now hold vast libraries of compounds isolated from the venom of different species, which can be rapidly screened against new

targets to generate potential innovative active components in new drugs.

Sometimes, it’s initially cheaper to isolate a compound from venom than to develop a purely synthetic pathway.

Thus, the venomous creatures are “milked” for their venom (with no harm to the animal, which continually produces venom naturally).

So yes, you really can milk a snake!

Insight Insight

Spider Science

by Josh Nicks

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ctober is mating season for a lot of our eight-legged friends (or foes, depending on personal preference). Whether you hate them or not, or are just indifferent, spiders have some remarkably interesting biochemistry that they use to pull off their silk-spinning tricks.

The silk spiders weave is an incredibly strong material. When discussing spider silk, the web is classified in two parts. The dragline silk, which are the lines stemming from the centre of the web, and the flag silk, which are the lines between the dragline silk.

The amazing qualities of spider silk as a material can be best exemplified by comparing it to Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests. Kevlar has an elasticity of 2.7%, meaning its length increases by 2.7% when stretched.

In comparison, the elasticity of a European garden spider’s dragline silk is 27%, and that of its flag silk is 270%!

In materials science, toughness is defined as the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing. Kevlar has an incredible toughness of 50 MJ m-3.

However, the spiderwebs in our attics far surpass even this. Dragline and flag silk have toughness more than triple this, of 190 and 150 MJ m-3 respectively. The only downside is that spider silk has a lower strength, which is the ability to withstand an applied load.

Spider silk is a protein fiber. Alanine and glycine are the two major amino acids present in this protein, though serine and proline are also present in other silks. The glycine-rich regions in spider silk directly result in the elasticity, causing amorphous areas in the structure. The alanine-rich regions actually hydrogen-bond together to form more crystalline areas, which are what contribute to the silks strength.

Materials chemists have been trying to reproduce the strength of spider silk for years. This has been somewhat successful on a small scale, but making large quantities has proven difficult.

Some have succeeded by genetically modifying goats to produce the silk proteins in their milk! Cambridge researchers have also managed to design a hydrogel that mimics spider silk (see youtu.be/jlaY2vY7zSE).

In the UK, spiders are famous for leaving cobwebs in our homes, but across the globe they have a slightly more hazardous effect on humans.

Spiders are the most numerous venomous animal on the planet. There are approximately 150,000 venomous species, more than all the other species of venomous animal combined.

Tyically, spiders use their venom to paralyse their prey, fortunately targeting insects and not humans.

We group these venoms into two categories: necrotic, and neurotoxic.

Necrotic venoms cause cell and tissue damage, leading to inflammation of the affected area, as well as lesions and blisters. Neurotoxic venoms, however, affect the victims nervous system, and

This biosynthetic silk strand was made using modified bacteria.

The Sydney funnel web spider is the most venomous spider in the world, in terms of toxicity to humans.

can lead to cardiac arrest in extreme cases.

The chemicals that make up these venoms are typically separated by molecular weight. Low molecular weight molecules (<1000), peptides (1000-10000), and proteins (10000+) all appear in the venoms of different spider species in varying quantities.

Low molecular weight compounds typically consist of salts, carbohydrates and small organic compounds. The potassium ions found in these salts are believed to aid the venom in reaching their biological targets! Peptides are the typical main component of these venoms, and often are responsible for the necrotic effects. Disulfidecontaining peptides are the major problem-causers, as they effect ion channels in the nervous systems of their victims.

So there you have it, the arachnids that we so often see hanging from our ceilings have a great deal of chemistry to them, and it may take generations of materials and bio-chemists before we fully understand them!

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Feature

Bioluminescence

Light emission from living creatures

by James Shipp

There are many animals that exhibit a phenomenon known as bioluminescence, which happens as a result of chemical reactions within the bodies of the organism that release energy in the form of light. Luminescence is often referred to as “cold-light”, as it is the spontaneous emission of light not resulting from heat. Light emitted by a substance as a result of heat is instead known as incandescence.

Bioluminescence is common throughout the animal kingdom, particularly in the ocean species, such as fish, jellyfish, crustaceans and molluscs. In fact, approximately 76% of deep-sea animals produce light. Typically this light emission is

in the blue-green part of the visible prey. Most fireflies produce light spectrum, but some species, such in the 510-670 nm range, ranging as loose-jawed fish, are capable of from green to red. producing infrared light.

Interestingly, some bioluminescent organisms called ostracods, also known as ’blue tears’ found an unlikely use. In the Second World War they were collected by the Japanese Army for use as a light source for reading maps.

A firefly, shown producing light from its lower abdomen.

A common example of a bioluminescent organism is the firefly, or lightning bug, which produces ‘cold’ yellow light as a way of attracting both mates and

An enhanced image of an ostracod.

In the depths of the ocean, bioluminescent organisms are some of the only sources of light, as sunlight only penetrates approximately 60 meters into the water. Famous examples of such creatures are jellyfish.

Photoproteins, which were first isolated from jellyfish many years ago, are now a crucial part of laboratory biology, where they are used for marking gene sequences

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Feature

The Chemistry of Bioluminescence Light emitted as a by-product of a chemical reaction is known as chemiluminescence. In luminescent organisms, this chemical reaction is the oxidation of compounds known as luciferins by a luciferase enzyme.

The oxidation reaction is a complex enzyme catalysed mechanism involving metal ions, such as Mg2+ or Ca2+, as well as adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Coelenterazine is a luciferin found in many ocean-dwelling creatures, such as jellyfish. Upon oxidation, the luciferin has a long-lived emission of blue light. This complex molecule was first isolated and characterised from the bioluminescent sea pansy (Renilla reniformis) and the cnidarian Aequorea victoria jellyfish in 1961,

bacteria which produce a bright glow that these species are able to control. The esca is waved about in front of the fish to lure smaller However, bioluminescence is not animals towards them, only to be always a tool used solely by prey caught within their jaws. animals. Some predators have found ways to use this light to help So despite being a beautiful view them catch their food. For example, to us, and a fantastic example deep sea fish such as the anglerfish of biological chemistry in Another use of this phenomenon and dragonfish have an appendage action, if you go deep enough, is for defence. Small crustaceans on their heads called an esca. The bioluminescence isn’t always going often expel luminescent chemicals esca contains bioluminescent to be a pretty sight!

There are several uses of bioluminescence in marine animals, such as camouflage. For example, firefly squid exhibit bioluminescence on their undersides to simulate light from the sun. They use this to trick and blind predators, so they can remain unharmed.

in the same way as a squid would use ink to distract a predator and make their escape.

Some algae are also bioluminescent. At night, it is possible to observe ‘bioluminescent beaches’, such as Sam Mun Tsai Beach in Hong Kong, where the plankton growing on the shore emit a bright blue light when disturbed.

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Feature

Animal Magnetsm

by Jenny Train

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any animals can sense the Earth’s magnetic fields, and are able to use it to perceive direction, altitude, or location. This is known as magnetoreception. The early theory of magnetoreception was developed in the 1950’s, when scientists discovered that caged robins moved towards the southwest of their cages in migration season. This was unusual as it opposed the previous assumption that animals used the sun or stars to navigate over long distances.

Wolfgang Wiltschko, a German scientist, first demonstrated this phenomenon by creating a new magnetic field around the birds using electrical coils. The birds then proceeded to reorientate to whichever direction the new “southwest” became. These results weren’t accepted by most scientists for at least a decade, but we now know that many animals, including flies, bees, lobsters, salmon, sea turtles, bacteria and countless more are all influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field.

likely proposed mechanisms are those occurring through iron-based magnetoreceptors, electromagnetic induction and through cryptochromes. The use of iron-based magnetoreceptors is a commonly accepted theory and also builds on the knowledge of magnetotactic bacteria.

Magnetotactic bacteria have been found to contain magnetite (Fe3O4) or iron sulphide (FeS) molecules in structures called magnetosomes.

These magnetosomes are arranged in a linear chain, and align in parallel with the Earth’s magnetic field to rotate the body of the bacteria in a certain direction. This has been shown to give the bacteria a sense of “up and down”, so they can navigate through layers of mud or sediment and be exposed to the different nutrients that they need.

However, the mechanism behind The big brown bat is able to use magnetoreception is still largely magnetic fields to for orientation. unknown. The three most

Pigeons, salmon and other animals have been shown to have ironbased clusters of magnetite or maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) contained in small spaces in their heads. These small spaces are associated with the trigeminal nerve, which conveys information on touch, temperature and pain from the face to the brain. Thus, their magnetism is directly connected to their nervous systems.

The second suggested mechanism is that of electromagnetic induction.

This theory proposes that as sea life moves through the Earth’s magnetic field, they generate an electric current, which can then be sensed. Sharks and rays are known to possess a unique electroreceptive organ, which can detect slight variations in electric potential. This is one of the reasons shark bites are often found on underwater power lines. It is thought that these organs could potentially be used to sense the Earth’s magnetic field and influence their migration patterns.

However, the connection between magnetic fields and this organ has yet to be demonstrated, as these animals are difficult to experiment with and observe - though work is in progress!

Winged Heroes The ability of birds to utilise magnetoreception for navigation led to their extensive use during both world wars. Homing pigeons were so successful, that less than 1% of their messages needed to be encoded.

Despite their use in the wars, it was only in the 1960s that scientists first demonstrated magnetoreception experimentally.

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The final mechanism currently being studied is that of radical pair reactions. In this case, magnetic fields cause the orientation of unpaired electrons in molecules to flip, thus having a direct effect on the outcomes of radical pair chemistry.

The molecule cryptochrome, a flavoprotein found in the eyes of humans and other animal species, would be a likely player in this mechanism.

many animal species can sense the Earth’s magnetic fields, and that this can happen through a variety of mechanisms. Ultimately, Nature’s complexity means it is likely that each species has a different balance of many factors that affect

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its magnetoresponsive ability with each animal using it for a different purpose. Maybe one day, we will discover that we are also using this intriguing phenomenon in a way we never understood.

When exposed to blue light, crypotochrome makes radicalpairs through photoinduction. A study has proven this to be essential for the light-dependent ability of fruit flies to sense magnetic fields. This work has also led to the theory that perhaps humans are also somehow magnetoresponsive, as we also have cryptochrome molecules in our iris!

Magnetoreception by cryptochrome activation could be seen in a birds vision.

Countless studies have found that Light-dark patterns would differ, depending on which direction the bird is facing.

Elemental Factfile: Zinc Zinc is element number 30 in the periodic table, and an essential trace element for humans, animals, and plants. It is a common mistake to call zinc a transition metal. Zinc is definitely a d-block element, but it is not a transition metal as it has a fully, not partially, occupied d-orbitals.

Over two hundred types of enzyme contain zinc. These are used to control everything from our growth, our fertility and our digestion.

Humans have known of zinc since early times. Pliny the Elder, who wrote Naturalis, mentioned an ointment that soothed and healed wounds, which scientists believed contained zinc oxide. Alchemists burned zinc metal in air and collected the resulting zinc oxide on a condenser. Some alchemists called this zinc oxide lana philosophica, Latin for “philosopher’s wool”, because it collected in wooly tufts.

Zinc was officially indentified by Andreas Marggraf in 1746, who heated calamine ore in the presence of carbon to obtain the element. He realised that no one had named this metal, though Persian, Chinese and Indian cultures had been smelting it for centuries.

Low levels of zinc in the soil is an incredibly common micronutrient deficiency in agriculture. Without enough zinc, crop productivity can become very low, which directly affects rice, wheat, and maize the most. Most farmers will add zinc to their soil, as it benefits both them to have a higher yield, and the consumers, who get a richer diet.

Humanity produces over 11 million tonnes of zinc per year. 55% of this is used to galvanize steel, a process used to protect it from corrosion. 17% is used to create alloys for die-casting,

30

Zn 65.38

and 12% is used to produce the alloys bronze and brass.

Despite the various practical uses we have found for zinc, it also has a surprising aesthetic side to its uses.

When Baron Haussmann renovated Paris for Napoleon III in 1853, he used zinc extensively, and the beautiful rooftops of today’s Paris are still over 80 percent zinc.This has led to the city’s silvery patina - an inspiring sight for artists decades later!

The zinc-plated skyline of Paris.

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News

News from the

PhD Student Named one of Sheffield’s Top Teachers by Students

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PhD student in the Department of Chemistry (and former Resonance editor), Jenna Spencer-Briggs, has won an award for her commitment to teaching undergraduate chemistry students in the lab. The Sheffield Academic Awards, given in May this year, are run by Sheffield Students’ Union to celebrate people who have enhanced education and community life at the University of Sheffield.

Jenna came top of the “Best Postgraduate Research Student who Teaches” category, with the departments Professor Jim Thomas nominated for Best Postgraduate Supervisor in his case.

Jenna said: “It feels amazing to win the award. I was nominated for the award by undergraduate students in the department, and it means so much to me that my teaching and demonstrating has been appreciated by them.

“There were four of us on shortlist for the award I’m thankful to the panel recognising and rewarding hard work.”

the and for my

Jenna has worked as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) in the Department of Chemistry, running

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research with a clearer grasp of the fundamentals,” she said. “Students often think of questions that you’ve never thought of which helps my own critical thinking. Teaching large groups of students has definitely boosted my confidence and presentation skills.”

Five different people that Jenna works with or has taught nominated her for the Academic Award.

One nomination highlighted her use of video to support teaching, as Jenna worked with another PhD student, Dan Jenkinson, to produce an explainer video on how Jenna receiving her award for Best to interpret an NMR spectrum.

Postgraduate Research Student who Jenna was also celebrated for her Teaches, at the Academic Awards in work on developing a training May. programme for demonstrators, and the quality of her feedback and laboratory teaching sessions for communication. undergraduate students.

One person who nominated Jenna Last year, she became one of several wrote: “Since first year, Jenna postgraduate students and GTAs has been both approachable and to become a Fellow of the Higher professional to both myself and Education Academy, the UK’s my colleagues. Fantastic sense of professional body for university humour who can tailor the learning teachers. around your knowledge. A true friend in such a highly pressured “Teaching in the labs has had a environment.” variety of benefits: explaining laboratory techniques and Congratulations, Jenna! equipment have helped cement them in my mind, which has helped me approach my own

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News

Department Conference Prizes for PhD Students Across Research Clusters

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ummer is conference season in the scientific research community, and plenty of our postgraduate researchers have been presenting their work all over the country (pictures below).

Sam Ivko (Haynes group) and Aneesa Ahmed (Martsinovich group) both won poster prizes at the RSC conference on materials chemistry (MC14) in July. James Grayson also won a prize for his recently published work at the Royal Society of Chemistry Organic Division Midlands Meeting, held at the University of Warwick in April.

Alex James, a third year PhD student in the Dawson group, was awarded the best talk prize at the

UkPorMat conference in Cardiff held 1 - 2 July. His talked, titled “Porous Polymeric Dispersions - Porous Polymers in Solution,” discussed how typically insoluble porous polymers can be made solution-processable, leading to a diverse set of new applications.

Two researchers in the Foster group, Dave Ashworth and Josh Nicks, won prizes for their work on functional metal-organic nanosheets at Dalton North and MASC-ECR, respectively. Dr Tom Roseveare, a postdoctoral research associate in Professor Lee Brammer’s group, won his prize at the British Crystallographic Association Spring Meeting in Nottingham, where Prof Brammer gave a keynote speech.

Sally Morton, a PhD student in the group of Dr. David Williams, took her prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s 15th Annual Nucleic Acids Forum at Burlington House, for her poster entitled “Investigating Crotonaldehyde Induced Interstrand Crosslinks in DNA”.

Two PhD students in the Theory cluster, Heather Carson and Robert Shaw, were prize winners at the RSC Theoretical Chemistry Group meeting in Nottingham on 31st July. Robert was awarded the Coulson prize for best presentation, while Heather won a prize for best poster.

Congratulations, everyone!

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Chemistry Student Named Science Undergraduate of the Year

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addie Cullen, a second year Chemistry student at the University of Sheffield, has been named as Science Undergraduate of the Year.

She was presented with the award by television personality Rachel Riley at the TARGETJobs awards ceremony, held in Canary Wharf, London, in April.

Her prize is a place on category sponsor Clifford Chance’s SPARK scheme, which includes a trip to their office in Brussels and a possible training contract with the firm.

Maddie said: “I was extremely pleased and very surprised. All of the other finalists were fantastic and I’m the first in my family to go to university, so being named Science Undergraduate of the Year just seems surreal. Clifford Chance is a law firm, but has a program well suited to STEM graduates with an emphasis on innovation, technology and problem solving.”

welfare committee at the University up with areas of the business you’re interested in and in developing of Sheffield. your skills and networks.”

Maddie is on the Lloyds Scholars Scheme which offers students from Maddie has to manage a long-term lower-income households support medical condition. She added: “I’d whilst at University including also like to share my experience a bursary, mentoring and the as a disabled and first-generation opportunity to undertake paid university student with a wider internships across the country. She audience to hopefully inspire more has already completed internships people to put themselves forward for things like this. The advice I’d in Bristol and London give to chemistry students would be “My involvement with the scheme to not shy away from opportunities has been a highlight of my time so to use the problem-solving skills far at university and I’ve met some they have gained from their degree great people,” added Maddie. “The in new or unexpected ways.” two internships I’ve done have been extremely beneficial – not Congratulations, Maddie! only because they’re well paid but a lot of care goes into matching you

Maddie entered the competition after receiving an email about it from the Department of Chemistry.

She had to complete online tests and attend two interviews as well as submit her CV. Her latest success comes just a year after finishing runner-up in the Innovation category of the Telegraph STEM Awards for her work designing a wearable device for mental health conditions. She has also been chair of the student

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Madeleine Cullen (centre), pictured with Laura Yeates, Head of Graduate Talent at Clifford Chance, and awards host Rachel Riley.

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News

Julie Hyde Awarded National Teaching Fellowship for Outstanding Teaching and Support

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r Julie Hyde, a member of our academic teaching staff, has been honoured with a national award in recognition of her work to transform student and academic learning. Alongside Professor Katherine Linehan and Dr Gary Wood, Julie was awarded the prestigious National Teaching Fellowship by Advance HE for the outstanding impact of her teaching and support in UK higher education.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) described Dr Julie Hyde as ‘an inspirational chemist.’ Her work for the RSC, along with her unique ‘Purple Lecture’, a fun and informative lecture based around the discovery of the first synthetic dye, mauveine, has made her an influential leader in chemistry education, inspiring colleagues and establishing effective networks nationally and internationally.

She is a key figure in the development and nurturing of

Teaching Assistants that taught with her, that two of them are now teaching on similar programmes with different institutions in China.

Dr Julie Hyde (in purple), pictured with postgraduate teachers Zoe Smallwood and Dr Jamie Wright (right), teaching students in Nanjing.

Dr Julie Hyde said: “Upon hearing the news that I was selected to be a 2019 National Teaching Fellowship winner, I was absolutely delighted. I feel very honoured to achieve this award in recognition of my passion to teach and inspire students over many years about the subject I love, chemistry. Developing a laboratory programme to teach in China on the Sheffield/Nanjing Tech degree was an amazing opportunity and to become known for this work as a leader in the field nationally and internationally, by students and teaching colleagues alike, is a real privilege.”

educational partnerships with university in China for the teaching of chemistry, and has shared her approach with other institutions in the sector. In establishing a programme of laboratory teaching at Nanjing Tech University, Dr Julie Hyde transformed the way that laboratory practicals were taught at the institution, raising the profile of excellence. Her approaches were highly valued by her students in preparing them for Anyone reading this will probably their final year’s study in Sheffield. have benefited from Julie’s teaching, or will in the future, so It is a great testament to the support congratulations Julie on a wellshe provided to the UK Graduate deserved award!

Higher Education Authority Recognition for PhD Demonstrators Four PhD students from the Department of Chemistry have been recognised by the Higher Education Authority for their commitment to teaching at university level.

Eren Slate, Emma Owens, and Sam Ivko have worked as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) during their studies, providing help and support to undergraduates as they perform experiments and analyse their results. Liam Woodhead

has also volunteered his time to demonstrate during his PhD. Emma has visited China to teach students as part of the departmental partnership with Nanjing Tech University. She said: “I am pleased to have been recognised for my contribution to teaching within the department and hope this will aid my professional devlopment as I further my career in teaching.”

giving FHEA (fellow) status, with Liam receiving AFHEA (associate fellow) status.

Eren said: “It’s really rewarding to have my contribution towards teaching in the department recognised in this way and it makes me even more thankful for the opportunities I’ve had as a GTA.” Congratulations, everyone!

Eren, Emma and Sam have all been The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 11

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Feature

A Pint of Science

by Freya Cleasby

P

int of Science is a worldwide science festival that brings researchers to local pubs and cafes to share their scientific discoveries with the public. The three-day festival in May 2019 had events in over 400 cities and 24 countries around the world! Sheffield took part in the festival for the 5th year, showcasing research from The University of Sheffield in 6 themes; Atoms to Galaxies, Beautiful Mind, Our Body, Planet Earth, Tech me Out, and Our Society. This year I was the event manager for the Atoms to Galaxies theme, which encompasses topics from physics, chemistry, and maths, and I’m going to tell you how fantastic it was.

On Monday, a night titled “It’s not how big, it’s what you do with it,” we had three talks discussing how atoms ultimately govern how materials behave and how the rise of nanomaterials can be utilised for our medical needs.

part in an exciting game of periodic to designing his own experiment to bingo, where instead of numbers detect these “dark photons” at the you were watching out for elements Large Hadron Collider. on the period table!

During the break in presentations, Finally, and again from the PhD students from the energy Chemistry Department, we had storage CDT gave audience Dr Sarah Staniland speaking about members the chance to try their how her group takes inspiration new board game: Keep the Lights from nature to design complex On! Players learnt about the nanomaterials that can be applied to importance of energy storage, when a variety of important applications! using renewable energy sources, in order to keep power to our homes.

Guests could also make lava lamps out of oil, coloured saline water and dispersible tablets and once again search for themed clues around the venue for a prize.

The evening was kicked off by Paul Stavroulakis, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who delivered a talk on how the behaviour of metals and metal alloys we use on a day to day basis are governed by their atomic composition. He showed the crowd the modelling technique he uses to predict the properties of new alloys.

Before our next speaker, audience members had the chance to search the venue for science related clues hidden around the venue, to be in with the chance of winning the The board game, “Keep the Lights on!”, coveted Pint of Science pint glass! designed by PhD students in the energy

Our final talk was from Dr Marta Martinez-Alonso, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry, speaking about how she uses metal complexes that interact storage CDT for audience members to with light to provide photodynamic play.

Charlotte Kiker from the therapy.

Department of Chemistry was our next speaker, showing Tuesday night was titled “Lights, The final night, aptly titled “a brief audience members how metal- Science, Action!”, and centred story of the universe,” revolved organic nanosheets can be used around how light can be used in around all things space themed. as sensors. Charlotte focussed science. Dr Sebastian Trojanowski Oriana Trejo Alvarez, a science on programming the surfaces of from the School of Mathematics communication masters student, nanosheets to bind to DNA which and Statistics took us through how kicked things off with her talk, would enable easier diagnostics. light can shine through the walls of “from the big bang to your pint”. the Large Hadron Collider. He told This took us all on a journey from Audience members all then took us of his journey from a quick idea the formation of the elements in

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Insight Feature to walk on the sun’s surface and see its magnetic field! Up next was Jonny Pierce from the Physics Department. He showed us all what happens during galaxy mergers and explained why we wouldn’t Students from the Solar Physics even notice if our galaxy merged and Space Plasma Research Centre with our nearest neighbour in his brought the “Our Virtual Sun VR talk: the wonderful world of galaxy experience” which allowed guests mergers. The festival was rounded

off with a fantastic talk from Dr Emmanual Bernhard, also from the Physics Department, who spoke about black holes acting as the invisible regulators of the universe.

Following on from Jonny’s talk, he explained why we wouldn’t be here without black holes and how they regulate the formation and merging of galaxies.

Being an event manager was a fantastic experience. I was able to choose speakers and demonstrations I felt the audience would enjoy and worked with my activities manager to design fun activities for everyone. Seeing our hard work over the previous five months come to life, as audience members watched talks intently, asking engaging questions and getting excited about science and research was definitely a highlight for me. Without our fantastic volunteers, the whole event

to sign up to help out at any of the events look for the volunteer adverts!

the Big Bang, through the history of the universe to the present day, explaining how the same elements formed at the big bang can be found in the pints you drink today.

wouldn’t have been possible. Their enthusiasm and hard work made each evening run smoothly. I am very grateful to all of our speakers.

Each talk was so engaging and interesting to the non-science audience.

In Sheffield all events are organised and run by volunteers from the university. If you fancy choosing what talks and activities will be on at the next festival, then watch out for the event and activity manager role advertisements! If you want

Finally, if you are a researcher and want to share your exciting, ground-breaking research with the public in a pub-setting, then put in your application when the call for speakers goes out!

To receive emails about this go to www.sheffield.ac.uk/optin and tick ‘Yes, subscribe me to volunteers’ in your email preferences.

Can We Redefine Science in Africa? an opinion piece by Stephen Aderinto

T

o researchers of African roots: we could redefine African science.

Whenever I am asked, typically during a gathering of friends, ‘‘is there hope for science in Africa to be developed,’’ I always respond, very categorically, ‘‘there is, even though it may not seem so in the short term.’’ The rather bleak outlook of the future of African science on the part of those asking (as their questions suggests) is partly informed by their awareness of the enormous challenges confronting the conduct and dissemination of quality science in Africa. Many of these people asking are researchers of African descent themselves. Unfortunately, many young Africans are already giving up on redefining the community.

This is somewhat understandable, largely because of the failures on the part of the policymakers who are in

the best position to alter the scientific system. No doubt the older generation has failed, but I believe this should be the reason for young minds of African descent to be assertive in the face of past discouragements, to endeavour to understand more about African scientific developmental issues and to seek to proffer concrete solutions from the viewpoint of science. Show enthusiasm and interest in these issues.

Therefore, I am encouraged, that even though there are obvious challenges confronting the conduct of quality science in Africa, it could still be redefined, if aspiring young African scientists would rise to the challenges and take responsibility. To see this happen, I urge that we should learn as much as we can from developed parts of the world and capitalise on the many opportunities for our self-

development whilst we are here, so that upon returning home we can help our community.

As someone that strongly believes in a new scientific Africa emerging, I am trying to help our community as best I can. Early this year, I established a network session of early-career researchers of African origin/other developing nations. It has the scope to gather an understanding of the specific needs of the current cohorts of African early-career researchers in terms of research capacity building in their countries.

I hope that other African early career researchers in this university and beyond can do similar things as we strive to contribute to our goal of seeing African science redefined, improved, or at best revolutionised.

The University of Sheffield || Resonance Issue 11

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Crossword

Kitchen Chemistry

W

e spend a lot of our time here at university in the laboratory. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that chemistry is all around us! This section aims to demonstrate interesting chemistry experiments that can be done at home, which you can use to to teach your friends and family about the wonderful world of kitchen science!

In this issue, we’ll show you how to make your own sherbet, a tasty creation that Dr Joanna Buckley has demonstrated across the country.

Ingredients: Icing sugar Citric acid Bicarbonate soda Flavouring (we recommend jelly crystals) Ziploc Bag (for storage)

Instructions: 1. Add 1 teaspoon of citric acid and 1 teaspon of bicarbonate of soda to a mixing bowl.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of icing sugar to the bowl.

3. Add 1.5 tablespoons of jelly crystals (or more to taste).

4. Give it a taste, if too bitter add more sugar, if there isn’t enough fizz you may need to add either bicarbonate soda or citric acid, but only add small amounts.

5. Enjoy your sherbet!

The Science When you combine an acid, in this case citric acid, and a base, the bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3), with the water in your mouth, they react in an acid-base reaction to give the famous fizz! Carbon dioxide bubbles are forming on your tongue. The only reason to add sugar is because the acid and base are quite bitter, and the flavouring is, of course, just for flavour!

If you have any ideas for another kitchen science experiment, let us know at chem-news@ sheffield.ac.uk!

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