ILMAC Lausanne prepares for expanded 2026 edition


Injectable biomaterial aims to improve bone cancer treatment


Aston University has joined forces with Birmingham Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Brazil’s Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) to advance biomaterials that could transform bone cancer treatment.


ILMAC Lausanne, a key trade fair for Switzerland’s chemical and life sciences sector, will return from 23–24 September 2026. Held within the Western Swiss life sciences cluster - home to organisations including Lonza, Nestlé and UCB - the event continues to attract growing interest from industry professionals.


The 2024 edition recorded a 67% increase in visitor numbers and 25% growth in exhibitor participation compared to 2022. Organisers expect around 3,500 visitors and 220 exhibitors for the 2026 show.


High-quality networking remains a major draw, with 70% of attendees involved in decision- making processes and 94% of exhibitors recommending the fair. Companies typically take part using compact all-inclusive booth packages, with catering and networking sessions included for both exhibitors and visitors.


Registration for 2026 is now open, with early-bird rates available until 31 December 2025. Further details on themes, exhibitor packages and participation can be found on the event’s website.


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Chemspec Europe 2026 opens for registration


Registration is now open for Chemspec Europe 2026, which will return to Koelnmesse in Cologne on 6–7 May 2026. The event is a key international meeting point for the fi ne and speciality chemicals sector, bringing together producers, buyers and technical experts from pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, speciality materials, coatings, personal care, electronics and energy.


With strong early exhibitor commitment, the exhibition is expected to feature more than 400 global suppliers. Attendees will be able to explore innovations from established industry players including Albemarle, Brenntag, CABB Group, Johnson Matthey, Saltigo, Sinopec and Yashashvi Rasayan, alongside emerging solution providers.


Alongside the exhibition, Chemspec Europe 2026 will offer a two-stream conference programme covering regulatory and supply chain challenges, geopolitics, sustainability and technical innovation across a range of speciality chemical applications. The combination of technical content and face- to-face engagement is designed to support sourcing, benchmarking and collaboration in a rapidly evolving market.


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The partners have formalised their long-running collaboration by creating a new research group, BioTROCS (ITA Biomedical Technologies for Regenerative Orthopaedics). Their fi rst funded project will focus on developing an injectable paste designed to kill cancer cells and help regenerate diseased bone during surgery. The funding will also support a 12-month PhD placement for a Brazilian researcher at Aston University.


The group will work across biomaterial development, characterisation and clinical evaluation, combining expertise from physics, chemistry, biology and orthopaedic medicine. Aston and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital have explored the use of gallium- doped bioactive glasses, which early tests show can eliminate up to 99% of cancerous cells while supporting bone repair.


Professor Richard Martin from Aston University said the formal research alliance


will accelerate progress in developing minimally invasive biomaterials for bone tumours: “This area of research has huge potential, and welcoming an international PhD researcher will help us drive it forward.”


Dr Lucas Souza, who manages the Dubrowsky Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, added that the partnership strengthens a multidisciplinary effort that has already delivered promising advances in tackling critical bone defects and tumours.


Professor Joao Lopes from the Aeronautics Institute of Brazil, said the formation of BioTROCS will boost international funding opportunities and support a more dynamic innovation environment for regenerative orthopaedics.


Recent funding awards supporting the collaboration include:


£110,000 from Orthopaedic Research UK (ORUK) for early-career fellowship research into minimally invasive, anti-cancer biomaterials.


BRL 200,000 (approx. £26,000) for a Brazil– Chile–UK research network focused on the same technology.


Professor Richard Martin at work in his laboratory at Aston University. Credit: Aston University


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The hidden energy toll of observing quantum ticks


A team of researchers from the University of Oxford has uncovered a surprising twist in quantum timekeeping: the act of reading a quantum clock consumes far more energy than keeping it ticking. Published in Physical Review Letters, the study [1] challenges long-held assumptions about the thermodynamics of tiny, ultra-precise clocks and offers fresh insights for future quantum technologies.


At the quantum scale, traditional timekeeping becomes tricky. While classical clocks rely on clearly irreversible processes to mark time, quantum systems operate in a nearly reversible realm, making energy-effi cient timekeeping a challenge. To explore this, the researchers built a microscopic clock using single electrons hopping between two nanoscale regions. Each ‘jump’ acted as a tick, while measurement devices converted these quantum signals into classical data that could be recorded and analysed.


The fi ndings were striking: converting the quantum ticks into readable information consumed up to a billion times more energy than the clock itself. In other words, observing the clock is far more costly than running it. This fl ips a common assumption that the focus should be on building better quantum clocks - researchers now suggest


Graphic illustrating the difference in energy between running a quantum clock (left: a single electron hopping between two nanoscale regions) and reading the ticks of the clock (right). The energy required to read the clock is roughly one billion times larger than the energy required to run the clock. Credit: Natalia Ares, Vivek Wadhia, Federico Fedele.


smarter, more effi cient measurement strategies are key.


Lead author Professor Natalia Ares (Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford) said: “Quantum clocks running at the smallest scales were expected to lower the energy cost of timekeeping, but our new experiment reveals a surprising twist. Instead, in quantum clocks the quantum ticks far exceed that of the clockwork itself.”


Beyond clocks, the work sheds light on fundamental physics. By showing that the act of measurement drives time’s forward direction, the study connects energy, information, and the fl ow of time in a profound way. Co-author Florian Meier said:


“Beyond quantum clocks, this research touches on why time fl ows in one direction, showing that measurement - not just ticking - gives time its forward direction.”


The study also involved researchers from TU Wien and Trinity College Dublin, highlighting the collaborative nature of cutting-edge quantum research.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/lMqD


1. Entropic costs of the quantum-to- classical transition in a microscopic clock published in Physical Review Letters


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