News 2019
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Life Sciences - Chemistry - 19.03.2019
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 19.03.2019 
A distinct form of epigenetic memory
Epigenetic memory of transcriptional gene silencing has been observed in several organisms. However, it was not known whether mechanisms exist that convey transgenerational memory of a silencing "experience", without silencing the gene permanently. The Bühler group has now found such a phenomenon in a unicellular organism.
Chemistry - Physics - 18.03.2019 
A new way to generate hydrogen fuel from seawater
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen presents an alternative to fossil fuels, but purified water is a precious resource. A Stanford-led team has now developed a way to harness seawater - Earth's most abundant source - for chemical energy. Stanford researchers have devised a way to generate hydrogen fuel using solar power, electrodes and saltwater from San Francisco Bay.
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 14.03.2019 
Keeping track of fragrances
Fragrances are added in a wide variety of consumer products - cosmetics, detergents, cleaning agents, and air fresheners. If incompletely eliminated in wastewater treatment plants, they can end up in rivers and lakes. Companies are therefore required to perform an environmental risk assessment before fragrance compounds are used in final products.
Chemistry - Physics - 13.03.2019 
Converting biomass by applying mechanical force
One of the greatest global challenges is the efficient use of renewable sources in order to meet the increasing demand for energy and feedstock chemicals in the future. In this context, biomass is a promising alternative to existing fossil sources such as coal or oil. Cellulose plays a decisive role here because it accounts for the largest fraction of the natural carbon storage.
Chemistry - 12.03.2019
Chemistry - Life Sciences - 07.03.2019
Physics - Chemistry - 07.03.2019
Materials Science - Chemistry - 06.03.2019 
Smoothing out the wrinkles in graphene
Coating graphene with wax makes for a less contaminated surface during device manufacturing. To protect graphene from performance-impairing wrinkles and contaminants that mar its surface during device fabrication, MIT researchers have turned to an everyday material: wax. Graphene is an atom-thin material that holds promise for making next-generation electronics.
Chemistry - Materials Science - 06.03.2019 
Plumbing the Depths of Interfaces and Finding Buried Treasure
By Lauren Chong Understanding the interfaces where solids and liquids meet is key to controlling a wide range of energy-relevant processes, from how batteries store energy to how metals corrode, and more. However, there are many unanswered questions around how these processes work at the atomic or molecular scale.
Chemistry - Life Sciences - 05.03.2019
Pharmacology - Chemistry - 04.03.2019
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 04.03.2019 
Protocells use DNA logic to communicate and compute
Researchers at the University of Bristol, Eindhoven University of Technology and Microsoft Research have successfully assembled communities of artificial cells that can chemically communicate and perform molecular computations using entrapped DNA logic gates. The work provides a step towards chemical cognition in synthetic protocells and could be useful in biosensing and therapeutics.
Physics - Chemistry - 04.03.2019 
Technique streamlines fabrication of 2-D circuits
Growing material directly onto substrates and recycling chip patterns should enable faster, simpler manufacturing. Exotic 2-D materials hold great promise for creating atom-thin circuits that could power flexible electronics, optoelectronics, and other next-generation devices. But fabricating complex 2-D circuits requires multiple time-consuming, expensive steps.
Chemistry - 04.03.2019 
Could smart tattoos soon monitor your health?
What do you get when you cross an engineer, a tattooist, and a dash of creativity? Smart tattoos, of course! It was exciting to see the concept played out on real skin at the Imperial Late - and our guests thought so too. Rosalia Moreddu Department of Chemical Engineering Artistic and scientific minds alike crowded to see tattooist Emma Wilkinson create an inky image of Imperial's very own Queen's Tower during February's Imperial Late.
Chemistry - Materials Science - 01.03.2019 
Spider silk could be used as robotic muscle
Unusual property of the ultrastrong material could be harnessed for twisting or pulling motions. Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, turns out to have another unusual property that might lead to new kinds of artificial muscles or robotic actuators, researchers have found.
Environment - Chemistry - 26.02.2019 
KU Leuven scientists crack the code for affordable, eco-friendly hydrogen gas
Bioscience engineers at KU Leuven have created a solar panel that produces hydrogen gas from moisture in the air. After ten years of development, the panel can now produce 250 litres per day - a world record, according to the researchers. Twenty of these solar panels could provide electricity and heat for one family for an entire year.
Physics - Chemistry - 21.02.2019 
Quantum dots can spit out clone-like photons
System that generates coherent single particles of light could help pave the way for quantum information processors or communications. In the global quest to develop practical computing and communications devices based on the principles of quantum physics, one potentially useful component has proved elusive: a source of individual particles of light with perfectly constant, predictable, and steady characteristics.
Physics - Chemistry - 21.02.2019 
Big Data at the Atomic Scale: New Detector Reaches New Frontier in Speed
This video provides an overview of the R&D effort to upgrade an electron microscope at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry with a superfast detector, the 4D Camera. The detector, which is linked to a supercomputer at Berkeley Lab via a high-speed data connection, can capture more images at a faster rate, revealing atomic-scale details across much larger areas than was possible before.
Physics - Chemistry - 21.02.2019 
ANU at the forefront of ground-breaking solar research
Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have made a fresh series of breakthroughs that could help further revolutionise solar technology - making it more efficient, and more accessible - following major discoveries last year. The team from ANU have been concentrating on the solar cell's skin layer, which is 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, and is used to conduct electricity and protect the solar cell.
Chemistry
Results 181 - 200 of 223.
What’s controlling chameleon-like abilities in squid
In the blink of an eye, a squid's "smart skin" can switch color and pattern for the purpose of camouflage or sexual signaling-a virtuosic display that has long fascinated scientists. Now, scientists from the UChicago-affiliated Marine Biological Laboratory and from Northeastern University report a paradigm-shifting discovery in how specialized organs in squid skin, called chromatophores, contribute to the feat via an elegant interplay of pigmentary action and structural coloration.
In the blink of an eye, a squid's "smart skin" can switch color and pattern for the purpose of camouflage or sexual signaling-a virtuosic display that has long fascinated scientists. Now, scientists from the UChicago-affiliated Marine Biological Laboratory and from Northeastern University report a paradigm-shifting discovery in how specialized organs in squid skin, called chromatophores, contribute to the feat via an elegant interplay of pigmentary action and structural coloration.
Epigenetic memory of transcriptional gene silencing has been observed in several organisms. However, it was not known whether mechanisms exist that convey transgenerational memory of a silencing "experience", without silencing the gene permanently. The Bühler group has now found such a phenomenon in a unicellular organism.
Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen presents an alternative to fossil fuels, but purified water is a precious resource. A Stanford-led team has now developed a way to harness seawater - Earth's most abundant source - for chemical energy. Stanford researchers have devised a way to generate hydrogen fuel using solar power, electrodes and saltwater from San Francisco Bay.
Fragrances are added in a wide variety of consumer products - cosmetics, detergents, cleaning agents, and air fresheners. If incompletely eliminated in wastewater treatment plants, they can end up in rivers and lakes. Companies are therefore required to perform an environmental risk assessment before fragrance compounds are used in final products.
One of the greatest global challenges is the efficient use of renewable sources in order to meet the increasing demand for energy and feedstock chemicals in the future. In this context, biomass is a promising alternative to existing fossil sources such as coal or oil. Cellulose plays a decisive role here because it accounts for the largest fraction of the natural carbon storage.
Light provides control for 3D printing with multiple materials
For News Media Contact: A.J. Boydston, aboydston [at] wisc (p) edu × Graduate student Johanna Schwartz next to the multimaterial printing setup that she built. Image courtesy A.J. Boydston and Johanna Schwartz 3D printing has revolutionized the fields of healthcare, biomedical engineering, manufacturing and art design.
For News Media Contact: A.J. Boydston, aboydston [at] wisc (p) edu × Graduate student Johanna Schwartz next to the multimaterial printing setup that she built. Image courtesy A.J. Boydston and Johanna Schwartz 3D printing has revolutionized the fields of healthcare, biomedical engineering, manufacturing and art design.
Advanced chemistry made possible with new suite of start-of-the-art instruments
A new suite of advanced analytical instruments allowing precise chemical measurement has opened in Imperial's Molecular Sciences Research Hub. The Agilent Measurement Suite (AMS) is a collaboration between Agilent Technologies Inc and Imperial College London. Its analytical instruments will help researchers tackle problems in areas ranging from health and environment to energy and fundamental biology.
A new suite of advanced analytical instruments allowing precise chemical measurement has opened in Imperial's Molecular Sciences Research Hub. The Agilent Measurement Suite (AMS) is a collaboration between Agilent Technologies Inc and Imperial College London. Its analytical instruments will help researchers tackle problems in areas ranging from health and environment to energy and fundamental biology.
Breakthrough could enable infrared cameras for electronics, self-driving cars
There's an entire world our eyes miss, hidden in the ranges of light wavelengths that human eyes can't see. But infrared cameras can pick up the secret light emitted as plants photosynthesize, as cool stars burn and batteries get hot. They can see through smoke and fog and plastic. But infrared cameras are much more expensive than visible-light ones; the energy of infrared light is smaller than visible light, making it harder to capture.
There's an entire world our eyes miss, hidden in the ranges of light wavelengths that human eyes can't see. But infrared cameras can pick up the secret light emitted as plants photosynthesize, as cool stars burn and batteries get hot. They can see through smoke and fog and plastic. But infrared cameras are much more expensive than visible-light ones; the energy of infrared light is smaller than visible light, making it harder to capture.
Coating graphene with wax makes for a less contaminated surface during device manufacturing. To protect graphene from performance-impairing wrinkles and contaminants that mar its surface during device fabrication, MIT researchers have turned to an everyday material: wax. Graphene is an atom-thin material that holds promise for making next-generation electronics.
By Lauren Chong Understanding the interfaces where solids and liquids meet is key to controlling a wide range of energy-relevant processes, from how batteries store energy to how metals corrode, and more. However, there are many unanswered questions around how these processes work at the atomic or molecular scale.
Three Ways Studying Organic Chemistry Changes the Brain
Academic learning is about gaining new knowledge and skill, but only recently has it been possible to see new knowledge appear in a human brain. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University researchers using multiple imaging modalities shows that learning scientific information results in changes in the actual structure of memory-related areas of the brain, changes due to the encoding of the new information in these memory-related brain areas, and changes in the coordination among the network nodes that jointly contain the new information.
Academic learning is about gaining new knowledge and skill, but only recently has it been possible to see new knowledge appear in a human brain. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University researchers using multiple imaging modalities shows that learning scientific information results in changes in the actual structure of memory-related areas of the brain, changes due to the encoding of the new information in these memory-related brain areas, and changes in the coordination among the network nodes that jointly contain the new information.
When changing one atom makes molecules better
Chemists in Vienna find a method to replace hydrogen with fluorine in organic molecules The development and improvement of pharmaceuticals plays the central role in the ongoing battle against human disease. Organic synthesis is the field that enables these developments as it offers the toolbox to diversify chemical structures.
Chemists in Vienna find a method to replace hydrogen with fluorine in organic molecules The development and improvement of pharmaceuticals plays the central role in the ongoing battle against human disease. Organic synthesis is the field that enables these developments as it offers the toolbox to diversify chemical structures.
Researchers at the University of Bristol, Eindhoven University of Technology and Microsoft Research have successfully assembled communities of artificial cells that can chemically communicate and perform molecular computations using entrapped DNA logic gates. The work provides a step towards chemical cognition in synthetic protocells and could be useful in biosensing and therapeutics.
Growing material directly onto substrates and recycling chip patterns should enable faster, simpler manufacturing. Exotic 2-D materials hold great promise for creating atom-thin circuits that could power flexible electronics, optoelectronics, and other next-generation devices. But fabricating complex 2-D circuits requires multiple time-consuming, expensive steps.
What do you get when you cross an engineer, a tattooist, and a dash of creativity? Smart tattoos, of course! It was exciting to see the concept played out on real skin at the Imperial Late - and our guests thought so too. Rosalia Moreddu Department of Chemical Engineering Artistic and scientific minds alike crowded to see tattooist Emma Wilkinson create an inky image of Imperial's very own Queen's Tower during February's Imperial Late.
Unusual property of the ultrastrong material could be harnessed for twisting or pulling motions. Spider silk, already known as one of the strongest materials for its weight, turns out to have another unusual property that might lead to new kinds of artificial muscles or robotic actuators, researchers have found.
Bioscience engineers at KU Leuven have created a solar panel that produces hydrogen gas from moisture in the air. After ten years of development, the panel can now produce 250 litres per day - a world record, according to the researchers. Twenty of these solar panels could provide electricity and heat for one family for an entire year.
System that generates coherent single particles of light could help pave the way for quantum information processors or communications. In the global quest to develop practical computing and communications devices based on the principles of quantum physics, one potentially useful component has proved elusive: a source of individual particles of light with perfectly constant, predictable, and steady characteristics.
This video provides an overview of the R&D effort to upgrade an electron microscope at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry with a superfast detector, the 4D Camera. The detector, which is linked to a supercomputer at Berkeley Lab via a high-speed data connection, can capture more images at a faster rate, revealing atomic-scale details across much larger areas than was possible before.
Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have made a fresh series of breakthroughs that could help further revolutionise solar technology - making it more efficient, and more accessible - following major discoveries last year. The team from ANU have been concentrating on the solar cell's skin layer, which is 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, and is used to conduct electricity and protect the solar cell.
