Feature Channels: Chemistry

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ASBMB publishes a statement expressing concerns for NIH budget cuts outlined by a House Labor HHS funding bill that could lead to lost jobs and halted research progress

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Visible light is a mere fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the manipulation of light waves at frequencies beyond human vision has enabled such technologies as cell phones and CT scans. Rice University researchers have a plan for leveraging a previously unused portion of the spectrum.

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A newly described type of chemistry in fungi is both surprisingly common and likely to involve highly reactive enzymes, two traits that make the genes involved useful signposts pointing to a potential treasure trove of biological compounds with medical and chemical applications.It was also nearly invisible to scientists until now.

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Today, AACC—in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association (ADA)—released evidence-based guidelines to help diagnose and manage patients with diabetes using the latest laboratory-analysis tools. The guidelines replace previous versions published in 2002 and 2011. The new document features extensive updates on continuous glucose monitoring and more precise recommendations for measuring glucose and hemoglobin A1c, a marker of average blood glucose. Written by a cross-disciplinary team of medical experts, the guidelines provide specific, actionable advice that will enhance collaboration among healthcare professionals and improve care for millions of people.

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Research in the Energy Sciences Center explores how heat changes in chemical reactions, paving the way for more efficient fuels and processes.

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The American Chemical Society will honor researchers and companies as Heroes of Chemistry for developing products that have led to significant advancements in improving health and the environment.

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Georgia Tech researchers are using aluminum foil to create batteries with higher energy density and greater stability. The team’s new battery system could enable electric vehicles to run longer on a single charge and would be cheaper to manufacture — all while having a positive impact on the environment.

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Putting a suite of new materials synthesis and characterization methods to the test, a team of scientists from the University of Iowa and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has developed 14 organic-inorganic hybrid materials, seven of which are entirely new. These uranium-based materials, as well as the detailed report of their bonding mechanisms, will help advance clean energy solutions, including safe nuclear energy.

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A new study from Tel Aviv University and Tel-Hai College solves an old mystery: Where did early humans in the Hula Valley get flint to make the prehistoric tools known as handaxes?

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When thawed, foods damaged by excessive ice lose their texture and become mushy. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have shown that broken-down soy proteins can prevent ice crystal growth.

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Coffee might do more than just wake you up. Research now published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows that, in preliminary in vitro laboratory tests, espresso compounds can inhibit tau protein aggregation — a process that is believed to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

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Although early detection of osteoporosis could help physicians intervene as soon as possible, this type of detection is not yet possible with current diagnostic tests. Now researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed a biosensor that could help identify those at risk for osteoporosis.

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In a new landmark chemistry study, researchers describe how they have achieved the highest level of energy storage — also known as capacitance — in a supercapacitor ever recorded.

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Over the past decade, teams of engineers, chemists and biologists have analyzed the physical and chemical properties of cicada wings, hoping to unlock the secret of their ability to kill microbes on contact. If this function of nature can be replicated by science, it may lead to products with inherently antibacterial surfaces that are more effective than current chemical treatments.

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The International Standards Organization has put its stamp of approval on 18 nuclear analytical chemistry methods at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These testing and calibration methods have received ISO 17025 accreditation.

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Berkeley Lab and Genentech are collaborating to make the next generation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for drug delivery. Combining structural biology with cutting edge pharmaceutical science, the team is designing LNPs that can precisely deliver vaccines and therapeutics to target tissues while improving the product’s shelf life and duration of action.

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A research group led by Dr. Jialei He of Nagoya University's Graduate School of Engineering has developed a method for processing cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) into micrometer-sized spherical particles.

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Since the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) approved the use of ultrasound to promote the extraction of grape compounds back in 2019, its application for obtaining superior red wines has been studied extensively.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at Merck & Co. developed a rapid and efficient method of making large quantities of metabolites directly from a drug or drug precursors via carbon-hydrogen oxidation catalysis.

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Argonne National Laboratory is building one of the nation’s first exascale systems, Aurora. Aurora's Early Science Program, through the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, tapped 15 research teams to get ready for launch. One team is using computational chemistry to accelerate the discovery of new catalysts.

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On-site analysis of paint layering identifies history of alterations in ancient paintings.

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A new study featuring data from the NASA Mars Perseverance rover reports on an instrumental detection potentially consistent with organic molecules on the Martian surface, hinting toward past habitability of the Red Planet.

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Researchers at SLAC and Stanford found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. This improved the material’s ability to conduct electricity with no loss and revealed that it’s more like superconducting cuprates than previously thought.

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Though antibiotics can treat leprosy, researchers are concerned about the increase in drug-resistant strains. Now, a team reporting in ACS Central Science has begun to understand the role certain immune receptors play in leprosy, which could lead to new types of treatments for this disease.

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Prostate cancer is resistant to one of the most powerful chemotherapy medications — cisplatin. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science have developed the first therapy of its kind that disrupts prostate cancer cells’ metabolism and releases cisplatin into the weakened cells, causing them to die.

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A freight train carrying industrial chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023. Researchers have been assessing the local air quality. Now, in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters, they report that some gases, including acrolein, reached levels that could be hazardous.

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New research shows how one transcription factor functions as a special “pioneer factor” by managing to bind to a blocked segment of DNA to begin the process of opening up and activating a gene.

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Case Western Reserve University chemical engineer Rohan Akolkar is leading a research team working to develop a new zero-carbon, electrochemical process to produce iron metal from ore. If successful, the project could be a first step toward eliminating harmful greenhouse gas emissions by eventually replacing century-old, blast-furnace ironmaking with a new electrolytic-iron production process.

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Researchers from Switzerland and China have studied the global trade in highly hazardous chemicals subject to a global treaty – the Rotterdam Convention. The results are sobering: Nearly half of the total trade volume of these chemicals crosses national borders illegally, calling for strong international and national action.

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The entire biosynthetic pathway of actinopyridazone has been unveiled, revealing that an unprecedented carrier protein-mediated ring-forming step is key to its synthesis.

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A new flow battery design achieves long life and capacity for grid energy storage from renewable fuels.

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To do research, chemists need data to predict and explain the direction, outcome, and amount of energy released or used during a chemical reaction. This information – called thermochemical data – is essential for a good deal of fundamental chemical science and for understanding and improving industrial processes. Argonne National Laboratory developed the Active Thermochemical Tables (ATcT) over the last two decades to meet the growing need for such data in many sectors.

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EMSL user Marcus Foston is using synthetic biology to create an underwater hydrogel that mimics the strength of mussel foot proteins. Foston explains how this hydrogel’s powerful adhesive could replace surgical sutures and fix cracked boats.

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Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have discovered a compound that uses a chemical reaction to store ammonia, potentially offering a safer and easier way to store this important chemical.

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The peptide-guided treatment builds new mineral microlayers that penetrate deep into the tooth to create effective, long-lasting natural protection. The ultimate goal is to provide easily accessible relief for the millions of adults worldwide who suffer from tooth sensitivity.

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Materials science pioneer Shirley Meng has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Battery Division Research Award by The Electrochemical Society. The recognition honors Meng's innovative research on interfacial science, which has paved the way for improved battery technologies.

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The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, announced that UAH chemical engineering students recently won a number of awards at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Southern Student Regional Conference.The ChemE Car Team won fifth place in the competition and advanced to the national round that will be held in fall 2023.

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Researchers have now pioneered a machine learning-based simulation method that supersedes traditional electronic structure simulation techniques. Their Materials Learning Algorithms (MALA) software stack enables access to previously unattainable length scales.

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This perspective is led by Prof. Weidong Shi and Prof. Long Zhang. Developing new and more-efficient catalytic ways to control chemical reactivity and selectivity has been a constant quest for chemists in the fields of chemical manufacturing and fundamental research.

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When you look at a painting in a museum, the colors that you see are likely less bright than they were originally, something that had previously been attributed mainly to light exposure. Now, researchers have discovered a new cause of color degradation: humidity.

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In chemistry, a molecule or ion is said to be chiral if it cannot be superposed on to its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, or conformational changes. A chiral molecule or ion exists in two forms, called enantiomers, that are mirror images of each other; they are often distinguished as either ‘right-handed’ or ‘left-handed’ by their absolute configuration. Enantiomers exhibit similar physical and chemical properties, except when interacting with polarized light and reacting with other chiral compounds, respectively.

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Electrochemical engineer Rohan Akolkar from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio—whose pioneering research has applications in nano-material fabrication, energy storage, electrometallurgy and sensors—has been selected as the 2023 winner of an international award from The Electrochemical Society (ECS).