Feature Channels: Chemistry

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UC San Diego researchers describe how the microbiomes of people and the homes they live in interact and change each other.

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Research work of a biochemistry expert at Chulalongkorn University finds that over 30% of cannabis-flavored drinks randomly tested contain higher THC levels than what is permitted. The public is warned to keep their consumption to moderate levels and that children should refrain from drinking this beverage. The government should control its consumption and warn the people of the benefit and harm of cannabis.

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The migration of carbon atoms on the surface of the nanomaterial graphene was recently measured for the first time. Although the atoms move too swiftly to be directly observed with an electron microscope, their effect on the stability of the material can now be determined indirectly while the material is heated on a microscopic hot plate. The study by researchers at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Vienna was published in the journal Carbon.

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In ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers report that proteins in a model plant-based substitute were not as accessible to cells as those from meat. The team says this knowledge could eventually be used to develop more healthful products.

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With the end of the pandemic seemingly nowhere in sight, scientists are still very focused on finding new or alternative drugs to treat and stop the spread of COVID-19. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that using an already existing drug compound in a new way, known as drug repurposing, could be successful in blocking the activity of a key enzyme of the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

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Biochemists and molecular biologists will give award lectures at #DiscoverBMB, the society's annual meeting, in March in Seattle.

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Adding water to the catalytic reaction that converts methane into useful methanol makes the process more effective, but it creates challenges for industry due to steam from the water. Now scientists have identified a common industrial catalyst, copper-zinc oxide, that completes the conversion along different pathways depending on whether water is present or not. This could potentially keep methane, a potent greenhouse gas, out of Earth’s atmosphere and instead turn it into useful products.

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Collaborative research from the labs of Daniel Giammar and Jeffrey Catalano finds a lack of available metals may be responsible for more nitrous oxide than previously thought.

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The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) previewed the launch of a new ingredient communication tool, ‘What Cleaning Ingredients Do,’ designed to enhance consumer understanding through greater transparency and building trust with consumers.

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AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce that Octavia Peck Palmer, PhD, FAACC, has been elected to serve on the AACC board of directors as president-elect starting in August 2022.

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URI doctoral student Cali Antolini receives six month fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago to research photochemical and photocatalytic reactions and photovoltaic material performance.

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The Journal of Chemical Physics, in its commitment to recognizing the excellent work of early-career investigators, is proud to announce the 2021 winners of the JCP Best Paper by an Emerging Investigator Awards. The awardees, Andrew Musser and Yoav Green, were selected for their research on molecular polaritons and electroneutrality breakdown in nanopores, respectively. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium and an invitation to write a perspective article for JCP.

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Each mistletoe berry can produce up to two metres of a gluey thread called viscin. It allows the seeds of this parasitic plant to stick to and infect host plants.

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Materials Scientist Jim De Yoreo guides a team that develops novel materials and understands how they form through collaboration and mentorship.

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Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. The readily adoptable, scalable method introduces a closed-loop strategy that could globally reduce plastic waste and cut carbon emissions tied to plastic production.

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A lecturer from the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University has developed rocking traffic poles made of natural rubber that is highly flexible, withstands, and reduces impact while also resuming its original form immediately upon being run over. They are now being tested with the hopes that they can soon replace plastic traffic poles.

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Whatever you are doing, whether it is driving a car, going for a jog, or even at your laziest, eating chips and watching TV on the couch, there is an entire suite of molecular machinery inside each of your cells hard at work.

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Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new form of rapid test to detect infections in farm animals, responding to the rising threat of dangerous outbreaks.

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Researchers at the University of Queensland have found a species of worm with an appetite for polystyrene could be the key to plastic recycling on a mass scale.

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Argonne's Michael Thackeray has been named Fellow of the Royal Society for his pivotal research on lithium-ion batteries.

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McMaster University researchers behind a new form of rapid, accurate and portable diagnostic test are moving their work toward the marketplace.

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A new tool can quickly and reliably identify the presence of Ebola virus in blood samples, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues at other institutions.

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Some household products release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that negatively impact health, including xylene, which exists as isomers that are hard to monitor separately. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have developed an electric nose that can accurately distinguish xylene isomer mixtures.

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To improve lithium-ion batteries' performance in extreme cold, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science replaced the traditional graphite anode with a bumpy carbon-based material, which maintains its rechargeable storage capacity down to -31 F.

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AACC joins more than 100 other medical and patient organizations that have expressed concerns about the Senate HELP committee rushing to pass the VALID Act, a bill that would limit patient access to vital laboratory developed tests and the lifesaving diagnoses these tests enable. Specifically, the medical and patient communities urge Congress to remove the VALID Act from the FDASLA Act, a piece of must-pass legislation that the Senate is on the cusp of ratifying.

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Argonne hosted a sustainable aviation fuels workshop, bringing together over 100 leaders in the U.S. aviation industry to discuss their mutual goals of achieving a greener future for commercial aviation.

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Scientists from the University of Birmingham have described how microscopic crystals grow and change shape in molten metals as they cool, in research that is breaking new ground in alloy research and paves the way for improving the tensile strength of alloys used in casting and welding.

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UPTON, NY—A team of researchers led by chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has learned that an electrolyte additive allows stable high-voltage cycling of nickel-rich layered cathodes. Their work could lead to improvements in the energy density of lithium batteries that power electric vehicles.

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Limonene – a compound in orange peels – is used in flavorings, perfumes and cleaners. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have treated limonene with electricity and ethanol, resulting in a mixture of fragrant aroma compounds, some of which haven’t been identified before.

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A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has discovered how subtle structural changes in strontium titanate, a metal oxide semiconductor, can alter the material’s electrical resistance and affect its superconducting properties. The research can help guide future experiments and materials design related to superconductivity and the creation of more efficient semiconductors for various electronic device applications.

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Synthesis of organic compounds and polymers is at the core of many manufacturing industries.

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The American Chemical Society today announced that Thomas Connelly, Jr., Ph.D., will retire from his position as ACS chief executive officer at the end of the year after more than seven years of serving in this role.

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Leading scientists exchanged innovative views on contemporary trends in the chemistry of 2D materials at a three-day online conference co-organised by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Nature Conferences, the preeminent series curated by the highly prestigious science journal Nature and Nature journals.

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A video posted on the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does not accurately portray the risk of secondhand exposure to fentanyl, according to emergency medicine physician.

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Seeing is believing — or, for scientists, the beginning of understanding.

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UWM graduates support the companies in the production of molybdenum-99, the parent of technetium-99m, the most widely used radioisotope in the world for diagnostic medical imaging. The materials are often abbreviated as Mo-99 and Tc-99m.)

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A recently developed catalyst for breaking down plastics continues to advance plastic upcycling processes. In 2020, a team of researchers led by Ames Laboratory scientists developed the first processive inorganic catalyst to deconstruct polyolefin plastics into molecules that can be used to create more valuable products. Now, the team has developed and validated a strategy to speed up the transformation without sacrificing desirable products.

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AACC, a global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to better health through laboratory medicine, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 AACC and AACC Academy Awards. Through this annual awards program, AACC and its academy recognize individuals around the world for outstanding research and service in the field of laboratory medicine, and strive to raise awareness of the vital contribution made by all lab professionals to patient care.

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Dr. Louise Charkoudian, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, has been selected as the first recipient for the Council on Undergraduate Research’s (CUR) Silvia Ronco Innovative Mentor Award.

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The surface of a coral is rugged. Its hard skeleton is populated by polyps that stretch their tentacles into the surrounding water to filter out food.