Soft Matter and Biological Physics group – Sheffield

Andy Parnell was asked to comment on a topical news story…

Our work looking at Ultra- white beetles has been featured in the ISIS annual review. This is a really big achievement and allows us to emphasise the importance of how fun and interesting industrial science can be !

Here is the link, we are on page 13.

Harvesting light and the journey of light from the Sun to the Earth and its conversion to electrical energy is shown in this amazing film.

Its good to see this work published. It all started with a chance invite to a meeting with Prof. Tony Ryan and Prof. Patrick Fairclough where I met Dr Cat Buckley (she hadn’t submitted her thesis at that point) and Dr Jason King.

We chatted about making interesting shaped polymer colloids (they like to call them beads) that Jason and Cat wanted to feed to amoeba to understand the process of Phagocytosis.

I really enjoyed working with Cat and Jason on this. So pleased for Cat that she is now a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow.

Here is the paper link and a movie showing successful Phagocytosis by RGBARG− Cells

Its great to see this paper out.  I am sure people will find access to this data useful in understanding the morphology of these amazing ultrawhite beetle scales.

A more personal view on the travails of the whole experiment and analysis leading up to this work can be read here 

Here is the link to the paper

We went for a walk to celebrate our amazing colleague Prof. Richard Jones and his ~ 23 year term at Sheffield. The walk started at Hathersage, via the River Derwent over the moors and on to the Barrel Inn at Bretton for lunch. We ambled back via a stone circle, a very mystical experience !

We all had an amazing day and will be sad that Richard is not in Sheffield, but we will continue some really rewarding collaborations that have spun us all in many different directions, all because of his insight, enthusiasm and truly unique intellect.

Thanks Richard !!!