News 2019

One of the planet's most active ecosystems is one most people rarely encounter and scientists are only starting to explore. The open ocean contains tiny organisms - phytoplankton - that perform half the photosynthesis on Earth, helping generate oxygen for animals on land. A study by University of Washington oceanographers a plentiful marine nutrient.

Researchers at KU Leuven and imec have successfully developed a new technique to insulate microchips. The technique uses metal-organic frameworks, a new type of materials consisting of structured nanopores. In the long term, this method can be used for the development of even smaller and more powerful chips that consume less energy.

Unique experiments at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source shine a light on a new pathway for carbon chemistry to evolve in space A team of scientists has discovered a new possible pathway toward forming carbon structures in space using a specialized chemical exploration technique at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Study involving X-ray imaging at Berkeley Lab provides clues to how artwork composed of oil paints can deteriorate over time Watching paint dry may seem like a boring hobby, but understanding what happens after the paint dries can be key in preserving precious works of art. The formation of metal soaps in artwork composed with oil paints can cause "art acne" - including pimpling and more severe deterioration - which poses a pressing challenge for art conservation around the globe.

The research group of Nuno Maulide from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna has, in cooperation with the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, achieved the synthesis of a potential immunosuppressive agent by modification of a naturally occurring compound.

When medical laboratories analyze blood samples for signs of disease, they sometimes use instruments that rely on a technology called digital microfluidics. The technique uses electric signals to pull tiny droplets of the sample across a surface so they can be analyzed. One drawback of the process is that the electric signals tend to damage the surface that the droplets travel over, which can cause the device to fail unexpectedly or deteriorate over time.

Despite its abundance, water retains a great many secrets. Among them, Stanford chemists have discovered, is that water microdroplets spontaneously produce hydrogen peroxide. Water is everywhere on Earth, but maybe that just gives it more space to hide its secrets. Its latest surprise, Stanford researchers report Aug.

Chemists funded by the SNSF have created a new compound for flexible drug delivery that specifically targets prostate cancer cells. Incorporating four different molecules, the compound prevents tumour cells from multiplying, can be detected by medical imaging and has staying power in the bloodstream.

A new model by researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering shows that health hazards from fires go beyond the burned areas, and fire emissions can contribute to cardiovascular disease hundreds of miles from the flames. The researchers said the risks are greater and more widespread than most predictive models show.

Deriving drinkable water from seawater, treating wastewater and conducting kidney dialysis are just a few important processes that use a technology called membrane filtration. The key to the process is the membrane filter — a thin, semi-porous film that allows certain substances such as water to pass through while separating out other, unwanted substances.

New wearable sensors developed by scientists at UC Berkeley can provide real-time measurements of sweat rate and electrolytes and metabolites in sweat. (Photo by Bizen Maskey, Sunchon National University) Needle pricks not your thing? A team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, is developing wearable skin sensors that can detect what's in your sweat.

An international team of scientists, including a professor of chemistry from the University of Bristol, has worked out a way to improve energy storage devices called supercapacitors, by designing a new class of detergents chemically related to laxatives. Their paper, published today , explains why these detergents, called ionic liquids, are better electrolytes than current materials and can improve supercapacitors.

Life on Earth arose about 4 billion years ago when the first cells formed within a primordial soup of complex, carbon-rich chemical compounds. These cells faced a chemical conundrum. They needed particular ions from the soup in order to perform basic functions. But those charged ions would have disrupted the simple membranes that encapsulated the cells.

For the past quarter-century, the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory has helped scientists and engineers make groundbreaking discoveries-providing extremely bright X-rays to investigate everything from dinosaur bones and lunar rocks to materials for new solar panels and new pharmaceutical drugs.

An artificial 'tongue' which can taste subtle differences between drams of whisky could help cut down on the trade in counterfeit alcohol, scientists say. In a new paper published today in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Nanoscale, Scottish engineers describe how they built the tiny taster, which exploits the optical properties of gold and aluminium to test the tipples.

Promising design rules for cost-effective desalination rely on just a few ingredients: ionic liquids plus low-cost geothermal or solar heat, or waste heat from machines A s populations boom and chronic droughts persist, coastal cities like Carlsbad in Southern California have increasingly turned to ocean desalination to supplement a dwindling fresh water supply.

When it comes to e-cigarettes, the ingredients listed are not all that users are consuming. Yale researchers found that chemical reactions in flavored liquids of the popular Juul e-cigarette create unexpected chemicals that can irritate users' airways. The researchers focused on acetals, which are chemicals that form when the common flavorant vanillin interacts with alcohols that carry the nicotine and flavors in e-cigarettes.

Imperial College London scientists have created artificial cells that mimic biological cells by responding to a chemical change in their surroundings. The artificial cells could be used to sense changes in the body and respond by releasing drug molecules, or to sense and remove harmful metals in the environment.

Scientists at ETH Zurich and oil and gas company Total have developed a new catalyst that converts CO2 and hydrogen into methanol. Offering realistic market potential, the technology paves the way for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. The global economy still relies on the fossil carbon sources of petroleum, natural gas and coal, not just to produce fuel, but also as a raw material used by the chemical industry to manufacture plastics and countless other chemical compounds.

Rice theory shows peculiar 'Janus' interface a common mechanism in carbon nanotube growth When is a circle less stable than a jagged loop? Apparently when you're talking about carbon nanotubes. Rice University theoretical researchers have discovered that nanotubes with segregated sections of "zigzag” and "armchair” facets growing from a solid catalyst are far more energetically stable than a circular arrangement would be.