Feature Channels: Chemistry

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Senior chemist Beverly Klein tells her experiences doing essential water quality testing during the pandemic--alone.

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Underrepresented students in STEM received lower grades in a general chemistry series compared to their peers and were less likely to continue. But if underrepresented students completed the first course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue, they were more likely than their peers to do so.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, many researchers are studying epidemiological models to predict its propagation. However, a mathematician and expert in complex systems decided to focus on finding targets within SARS-CoV-2 for new drugs to attack. In the journal Chaos, he discusses the dramatic increase in the sensitivity of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 to small disturbances, which made him suspect there is a role for inhibitors to play in killing the virus.

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A new study from the University of Georgia has shown that exposure to a now-banned flame retardant can alter the genetic code in sperm, leading to major health defects in children of exposed parents.

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Plants emit gases like methanol and acetic acid that are not directly related to photosynthesis but that have an unknown origin. Researchers have found a possible source: natural chemical modification in the cellulose in plant cell walls and accompanying metabolic changes.

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Developed in the lab of Stanford University Nobelist W.E. Moerner, the technique combines cryoelectron tomography and low temperature single-molecule microscopy. It has potential to answer fundamental questions about the molecular machinery of viruses, parasites, and processes like photosynthesis.

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AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce a new competition that will support cutting-edge research that could significantly improve diagnostic testing and patient care. Winners of the competition will each receive a sample set from AACC’s Universal Sample Bank, which includes blood samples from hundreds of healthy individuals that were collected to aid medical studies.

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A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory synthesized a "nanobrush" structure with high surface area and discovered how its unique architecture drives ions across interfaces to transport energy or information.

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The contributions of researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have yielded the first indication that carbon quantum dots, a class of nanoparticles, can be utilized to combat neurological disorders.

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Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Argonne National Laboratory are developing a technology that centers on manganese, one of Earth’s most abundant metals.

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Researchers have developed a technology called “Artificial Chemist,” which incorporates artificial intelligence and an automated system for performing chemical reactions to accelerate R&D and manufacturing of commercially desirable materials.

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Using a unique combination of nanoscale imaging and chemical analysis, an international team of researchers has revealed a key step in the molecular mechanism behind the water splitting reaction of photosynthesis, a finding that could help inform the design of renewable energy technology.

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The College of American Pathologists (CAP) released the 2020 edition of its Laboratory Accreditation Program checklists on June 4, 2020. CAP inspectors use the checklists, with approximately 3,000 requirements, during inspections to ensure laboratories comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations and achieve accreditation.

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Cement production has to drastically reduce its environmental footprint. Empa researchers are, therefore working on alternative cement recipes that cause significantly fewer emissions or can even bind the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

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Scientists at Berkeley Lab and Stanford have joined forces to aim a gene-targeting, antiviral agent called PAC-MAN against COVID-19.

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Researchers sped-up the motion of lithium ions in solid-state batteries using the paddlewheel effect.

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Recycling plastic faces several challenges, one of which is recycling different types of plastics together, because they have varying properties, each of which need to be addressed accordingly.

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Scientists and engineers are collaborating to translate existing water filtration technology to create a new fabric that will not only capture viruses, like the coronavirus, but also deactivate them.

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How might the novel coronavirus be prevented from entering a host cell in an effort to thwart infection? A team of biomedical scientists has made a discovery that points to a solution.

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Using electron microscopes, Hwang—a materials scientist at Brookhaven Lab's Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—characterizes the structure and chemistry of operating battery electrode materials.

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A personal, handheld device emitting high intensity ultraviolet light to disinfect areas by killing the Corona virus is now feasible, according to researchers at Penn State, the University of Minnesota and two Japanese universities.

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Argonne researchers have created a new kind of self-healing active material out of “microspinners,” which self-assemble under a magnetic field to form a lattice.

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Cornell researchers combined genetic engineering, single-molecule tracking and protein quantitation to get a closer look at this mechanism and understand how it functions. The knowledge could lead to the development of more effective antibacterial treatments.

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A new study examines the symbiotic relationship between two types of bacteria and spittlebugs that helps the insect live on very low-nutrient food. The bacteria use a metabolic “trick” also employed by cancer cells to create the right conditions for converting the poor food into the necessary building blocks for survival.

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Laser and biology experts at Berkeley Lab are working together to develop a platform and experiments to study the structure and components of viruses like the one causing COVID-19, and to learn how viruses interact with their surrounding environment. The experiments could provide new insight on how to reduce the infectiousness of viruses.

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A University of Arkansas at Little Rock doctoral student has been selected for a highly competitive postdoctoral scholarship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Emilie Darrigues, a doctoral student in applied science with an emphasis in chemistry who is graduating in May, is one of four students selected for the UAMS Translational Research Institute Health Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Postdoctoral Training Program for its class of 2022.

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A study shows hat self-assembling molecular traps can be used to capture PFAS — dangerous pollutants that have contaminated drinking water supplies around the world.

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Scientists first discovered helium burning on the surface of the sun, but today liquid helium plays an essential role in supercooling scientific equipment. Unfortunately, our complex history with the element has led to a recent shortage that threatens some types of scientific research.

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New research shows that in the important ceramic material silicon carbide, carbon atoms collect at those grain boundaries when the material is exposed to radiation. The finding could help engineers better understand the properties of ceramics and could aid in fine-tuning a new generation of ceramic materials.

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Cements, clays, soils, inks, paints, and even toothpaste. Many paste materials, also known as dense colloidal suspensions, stiffen as they age. Structural dynamics, or changes in the loads the materials undergo over time, are partly responsible for this change, but for decades, experts have suspected that there’s more going on inside these materials. Now, a University of Delaware professor and an international team of researchers have discovered a process called contact-controlled aging that explains some age-related changes in paste materials.

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Using SLAC's high-speed “electron camera," scientists simultaneously captured the movements of electrons and nuclei in a light-excited molecule. This marks the first time this has been done with ultrafast electron diffraction, which scatters a powerful beam of electrons off materials to pick up tiny molecular motions.

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A technology developed by researchers at PNNL could pave the way for increased fuel economy and lower greenhouse gas emissions as part of an octane-on-demand fuel-delivery system. The system separates ethanol-blended gasoline into high- and low-octane fuel components, metering out the appropriate fuel mixture to the engine depending on the power required.

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Faculty members at Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center are examining both intermediate materials and finished masks from a multidisciplinary approach.

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Midlands Medictech company Medherant has just this month (May 2020) signed a partnership agreement with Cambridge based Cycle Pharmaceuticals to develop multiple new products using Medherant technology developed by University of Warwick chemistry researchers.

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Researchers zeroed in on a key step in photosynthesis in which a water molecule moves in to bridge manganese and calcium atoms in the catalytic complex that splits water to produce breathable oxygen. What they learned brings them one step closer to obtaining a complete picture of this natural process, which could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy from sunlight and water. Their results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today.

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Argonne scientists studied platinum-free catalysts for important fuel cell reactions. The research provides understanding of the mechanisms that make the catalysts effective, and it could inform production of more efficient and cost-effective catalysts.

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In the latest auto-commentary from SLAS Discovery, “Controlling Phosphate Removal with Light: The Development of Optochemical Tools to Probe Protein Phosphatase Function,” researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) explain the design principles considered in developing an optically controlled protein phosphatase, opportunities and limitations of the methodology.

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The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the most promising innovators in science and technology, has announced the 2020 recipients of the Hertz Fellowship. This year’s fellowships will fund 16 researchers whose goals range from developing drugs more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, to advancing artificial intelligence to creating a carbon-neutral future.

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This odd behavior may promote the material's ability upon cooling to perfectly conduct electricity in a way unexplained by standard theories.

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21st century societal challenges such as demographic developments and an ageing population demand for new functional materials, such as for bone prostheses. Nature often serves as inspiration when designing these materials. In a recent study published in Analytical Chemistry, a team led by ERC awardee Dennis Kurzbach of the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna reports an innovative approach for high-resolution real-time monitoring of calcium phosphate mineralisation, which is an important natural process for the formation of, e.g., bone, carapace and teeth. They showed how next generation NMR technology allows to create new knowledge about the efficiency of natural materials.

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Until recently, researchers have not inspected the interplay between three common chemicals found in drinking water. Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has found they all affect each other and a closer look is needed.

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A team of researchers at McMaster University has developed a reliable and accurate blood test to track individual fat intake, a tool that could guide public health policy on healthy eating.

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The Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice program approved eight cleaning product ingredients submitted by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) for inclusion in its Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). The decision marks the first time Safer Choice has approved a SCIL submission by a non-manufacturer.

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A first-of-its-kind study published today in AACC’s Clinical Chemistry journal compared the performance of two COVID-19 antibody tests and found that—even though both tests are FDA authorized—one produced more incorrect results than the other. These findings could help healthcare professionals and researchers to better select antibody tests, which are essential to both treating COVID-19 patients and determining the full extent of the outbreak.

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In the First-Person Science series, scientists describe how they made significant discoveries over years of research. Christoph Benning is the director of the Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory.

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Igor Lednev’s innovative laser-light technology is adding another use to its forensics toolbox – being able to determine if a smoker was at the crime scene based on biological evidence.

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Dr. Xiaohong Tan, an assistant professor of chemistry at Bowling Green State University, has an idea to prevent coronaviruses from infecting humans. His idea merited the National Science Foundation’s approval for a one-year, $200,000 grant to fund his research.

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University of Texas at Austin researchers recently simulated the catalytic mechanism and atomic structure of nickel-doped graphene using Comet at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and Stampede2 at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. The simulations showed how the catalyst converts carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, an important feedstock for chemical engineering.

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The study introduces a generic way of engineering artificial forces between photons and molecules to enable new energy transfer pathways between molecules.