Feature Channels: Chemistry

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An undergraduate researcher is identifying bacteria that can potentially help improve gut health by colonizing the gut mucosal layer and stimulating the immune system.

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It sounds like the plot of the world's tiniest horror movie: deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a newly discovered species of wasp transforms a "social" spider into a zombie-like drone that abandons its colony to do the wasp's bidding.

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Seven researchers at the University of California San Diego have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest general science organization in the United States and publisher of the journal Science.

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Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have identified new, readily available materials that convert sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) into building blocks for liquid fuels that could one day heat homes and power cars.

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A team of scientists has discovered a single-site, visible-light-activated catalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into building block molecules that could be used for creating useful chemicals. The discovery opens the possibility of using sunlight to turn a greenhouse gas into hydrocarbon fuels.

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Flexible batteries that could fit inside a football and power sensors to confirm a first down or even power our devices so they can be fully charged in minutes. A team of researchers at UD has an invention aimed at improving battery performance.

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While probiotics are often used to treat acute gastroenteritis (also known as infectious diarrhea) in children, the latest evidence shows no significant differences in outcomes, compared to a placebo.

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Rutgers scientists have developed catalysts that can convert carbon dioxide – the main cause of global warming – into plastics, fabrics, resins and other products. The electrocatalysts are the first materials, aside from enzymes, that can turn carbon dioxide and water into carbon building blocks containing one, two, three or four carbon atoms with more than 99 percent efficiency.

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Scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)--a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory--have used ultrabright x-rays to image single bacteria with higher spatial resolution than ever before. Their work, published in Scientific Reports, demonstrates an x-ray imaging technique, called x-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRF), as an effective approach to produce 3-D images of small biological samples.

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West Virginia University chemists have developed an experiment to improve the efficiency of creating new medicine.

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Analyses of natural communities forming soil crusts agree with laboratory studies of isolated microbe-metabolite relationships.

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New, easily prepared starting material opens access to learning more about a difficult-to-control element in nuclear waste.

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Scientists revise understanding of the limits of bonding for very electron-rich heavy elements.

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Two ESF scientists are part of a research team that recently discovered an unusual molecule that is produced in the oceans by planktonic microalgae and bacteria.

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The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Southern Research for an award of up to $1.5 million to advance technology for carbon dioxide utilization.

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This experiment had a good chance of crashing. Instead, it delivered whopping evidence to corroborate that the translational system, which makes life out of our genes, would have thrived basically as it is today 4 billion years ago at the earliest foundations of life on Earth.

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In a study published today in the journal Cell, University of California, Irvine researchers reported that they have accelerated and simplified directed evolution by having live cells do most of the heavy lifting. By inserting a specially engineered DNA replication system into yeast, the scientists were able to coax selected genes to rapidly and stably mutate and evolve as the host yeast cells reproduced.

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With their new finding, Canadian scientists urge revision of decades-old dogma on protein synthesis

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The Endocrine Society expressed concerns that the European Commission’s communication on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) released Wednesday fails to address the urgent need to protect children and other vulnerable populations from EDC exposure.

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After eight years of study, a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego and Johns Hopkins University published new findings about how to read the body’s histone code in the Nov. 7 issue of Science Advances. The findings answer a key question in the dynamic research area of epigenetics—adding chemical tags to DNA and histone proteins to alter cell functions without changing DNA sequence. Understanding the fundamental principles of how epigenetic information is transduced in the cell eventually could lead to developing new drugs for fighting diseases like cancer.

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Argonne scientists have invented a membrane that, when exposed to sunlight, can clean itself and also actively degrade pollutants.

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His Nobel Prize-winning studies of the ribosome’s structure were conducted in part at Brookhaven’s former National Synchrotron Light Source.

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No matter if it’s grandma’s cookies or commercially produced rolls, pastry lovers expect their baked goods to have a certain “golden brown” allure — but only after baking. A white dough that changes hue during storage, however, can negatively affect the appearance and perception of the final baked product. Now in a study appearing in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists report that they have developed a natural way to prevent discoloration during storage.

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In the quest to replace fossil fuels, scientists are always on the lookout for alternative, environmentally friendly sources of energy. But who could have imagined a bionic mushroom that produces electricity? It sounds like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland, but researchers have now generated mushrooms patterned with energy-producing bacteria and an electrode network. They report their results in the ACS journal Nano Letters.

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An eco-friendly technology for greener cosmetics and cleaner engine lubricants, made from approximately 50 percent biomass (grasses, corn husks, wood chips, etc.) and 50 percent common cooking oil.

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Patient talks will inform scientists and clinicians on etiology and impact

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) has recognized biocatalysis expert Richard Gross with the 2019 ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, bestowed for outstanding scientific discoveries or chemistries that lay the foundation for cost-competitive environmentally friendly products or manufacturing processes that are less expensive than existing alternatives.

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Envision a yellow submarine on a rocket to Europa as a future culmination in the search for extraterrestrial life. A new $7 million NASA Astrobiology grant is fueling an alliance of oceanic astrobiology researchers who will unify their focus to probe oceans on our solar system neighbors for signs of life.

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Comparing the properties of cold- and hot-brew coffee, researchers found similar acidity in both, but higher antioxidant levels in hot coffee.

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In a new study published in Nature, scientists from the University of Chicago show how a common RNA modification plays an important role in the process of learning and memory formation.

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A trio of scientists was recognized for their early career successes in uncovering how microbes produce fuel, insights that could change our energy portfolio

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Manganese could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells. In a study published today (Oct. 29, 2018) in Nature Catalysis, a University at Buffalo-led research team reports on catalysts made from the widely available and inexpensive metal. The advancement could eventually help solve hydrogen fuel cells’ most frustrating problem: namely, they’re not affordable because most catalysts are made with platinum, which is both rare and expensive.

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Scientists at Scripps Research and their collaborators have created microorganisms that may recapitulate key features of organisms thought to have lived billions of years ago, allowing them to explore questions about how life evolved.

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Icahn School of Medicine is designated a certified mitochondrial care center as part of the newly formed Mitochondrial Care Network

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Wilfred Chen will receive the 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award in Chemical Engineering at the 2018 AIChE Annual Meeting.

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University of Oklahoma Professor Daniel Resasco has dedicated over 30 years to becoming an expert in the field of catalysis. In recognition of his work, the George Lynn Cross Professor and Gallogly Chair of Engineering was recently inducted into the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina.

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Fuel cell efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells decreases as the Nafion membrane, used to separate the anode and cathode within a fuel cell, swells as it interacts with water. Russian and Australian researchers have now shown that this Nafion separator membrane partially unwinds some of its constituent fibers, which then protrude away from the surface into the bulk water phase for hundreds of microns. Their results were published in this week’s Journal of Chemical Physics.

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Researchers at McMaster University have solved a vexing problem by engineering surface coatings that can repel everything, such as bacteria, viruses and living cells, but can be modified to permit beneficial exceptions.

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists used neutrons, isotopes and simulations to “see” the atomic structure of a saturated solution and found evidence supporting one of two competing hypotheses about how ions come together to form minerals.

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Comparing two strains of Salmonella – one that causes disease in humans and the other in reptiles – researchers discovered a covert way that the human-affecting bacteria essentially tricks the immune system into not attacking.

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Researchers have developed a new class of molecular layer deposition chemistry that paves the way for a new photoactivated molecular layer deposition technique. They report that their new method will expand the tool kit for forming covalently bound organic multilayers at surfaces. These emerging deposition techniques have enabled engineers to produce organic thin films with improved conformality. Richard Closser, Stanford University, will present the findings at the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition, Oct. 21-26, 2018.

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As the phones get slimmer, the optics crisper and the processors faster, have you ever wondered what is happening behind the scenes that make these remarkable achievements possible? During the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition, Oct. 21-26, Svetlana Radovanov will discuss the research and development that ultimately are used to create the particle accelerators driving these technological advances.

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A team of Tufts University-led researchers has developed three-dimensional (3D) human tissue culture models for the central nervous system that mimic structural and functional features of the brain and demonstrate neural activity sustained over a period of many months.

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Precise positioning of oxygens could help engineer faster, more efficient energy-relevant chemical transformations.

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Researchers have developed a new test that could diagnose chronic kidney disease early in patients with type 2 diabetes. This novel method, published today in AACC’s Clinical Chemistry journal, could improve quality of life for diabetic patients by potentially catching chronic kidney disease in time to stop its progression to full-blown kidney failure.

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New research from Duke and Yale universities shows flavorings are transforming more than marketing. The chemical additives react to e-liquid, or e-juice, creating new compounds that could trigger irritation and inflammation when inhaled.

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A growing body of research indicates bisphenol A (BPA) levels in food containers present a public health risk. Despite this evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to assert that BPA is safe for use in food packaging, based on an initial report conducted as part of the Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity (CLARITY-BPA).

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The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting development of a system for producing biobased chemicals that's based on the idea of "bioprivileged molecules." Researchers at the Center for Biorenewable Chemicals based at Iowa State University say such molecules have new and valuable properties.

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To forge nanodiamonds, which have potential applications in medicine, optoelectronics and quantum computing, researchers expose organic explosive molecules to powerful detonations in a controlled environment. These explosive forces, however, make it difficult to study the nanodiamond formation process. To overcome this hurdle, researchers recently developed a procedure and a computer model that can simulate the highly variable conditions of explosions on phenomenally short time scales. They report their work in The Journal of Chemical Physics.