news 2022

An international collaboration involving the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) has succeeded in bringing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to the femtosecond time scale. This advance, published in Nature Communications , will not only make it possible to investigate the effects on chemical bonds due to the movements of atomic nuclei, but also those caused by electronic dynamics.

A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists has developed a new technique to analyze fentanyl in human blood and urine samples that could aid work in the fields of medicine and chemical forensics. Led by Carlos Valdez, an LLNL synthetic chemist and lead author, the team discussed its new fentanyl analysis approach in a paper recently published in the San Francisco-based Public Library of Science (PLOS) One online journal.

PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is one of the most produced plastics in the United States and the third highest by volume in the world. Study: Using waste poly(vinyl chloride) to synthesize chloroarenes by plasticizer-mediated electro(de)chlorination PVC makes up a vast amount of plastics we use on a daily basis.

Monoamines are neurotransmitters in the central and peripheral nervous systems and they also transmit signals between cells and the brain. This transmission is followed by their reuptake into the cells by means of transporters. While the specific monoamine transporters have already been well studied, not enough is known about the organic cation transporters, which are high-capacity monoamine transporters.

Hundreds of millions of tons of polymer materials are produced globally for use in a vast and ever-growing application space with new material demands such as green chemistry polymers, consumer packaging, adhesives, automotive components, fabrics and solar cells. But discovering suitable polymer materials for use in these applications lies in accurately predicting the properties that a candidate material will have.

A new type of selectivity to better describe reactivity in organic chemistry has been conceptualized. Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry (LCO - ULB) have published their work in Cell Reports Physical Science. An important part of organic chemistry consists of the synthesis of products via a sequence of chemical reactions.

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) have demonstrated a new technique, modeled after a metabolic process found in some bacteria , for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid acetate, a key ingredient in "liquid sunlight" or solar fuels produced through artificial photosynthesis.

When charged particles are being shot through ultra-thin layers of material, sometimes spectacular micro-explosions occur, sometimes the material remains almost intact. This has now been explained at the TU Wien. It sounds a bit like a magic trick: Some materials can be shot through with fast, electrically charged ions without exhibiting holes afterwards.

Rock samples from the Jezero crater analysed by the Perseverance rover show evidence of liquid water and signatures that could be organic compounds. A study published in Science analyses multiple rocks found at the bottom of Jezero Crater on Mars, where the Perseverance rover landed in 2020, revealing significant interaction between the rocks and liquid water.

In Switzerland, tire and road wear particles are one of the biggest sources of microplastics released into the environment, yet the chemical compounds contained in those particles - and their effects - remain largely a mystery. To remedy that knowledge gap, scientists at EPFL and two other Swiss research institutes are conducting a study of the toxicity of tire-particle compounds and how readily they're absorbed by living organisms.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope just scored another first: a molecular and chemical profile of a distant world's skies. This is shown in five new articles by an international team of scientists, including Jean-Michel Désert, Hinna Shivkumar and Saugata Barat from the University of Amsterdam are soon to be published in leading science magazines.

Next week the UN intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) on plastic pollution will meet in Uruguay to develop an international legally binding instrument against plastic pollution. There is concern among scientists that the negotiations will overlook the diversity and complexity of chemicals present in plastics.

The contents of the last meal consumed by the earliest animals known to inhabit Earth more than 550 million years ago has unearthed new clues about the physiology of our earliest animal ancestors, according to scientists from The Australian National University (ANU). Ediacara biota are the world's oldest large organisms and were first discovered in the Ediacara Hills in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

A Bath discovery opens a new route for measuring and controlling hot electrons. The hope is that more energy will be available to power solar cells. A new way of extracting quantitative information from state-of-the-art single molecule experiments has been developed by physicists at the University of Bath.

Neutrons from FRM II expose crystal structure of carbonic acid The existence of carbonic acid has long been the subject of debate: theoretically real, but practically impossible to detect. That is because the compound decomposes at the Earth's surface. A German-Chinese team of researchers working at the FRM II Research Neutron Source at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now made the crystalline structure of carbonic acid molecules visible for the first time.

The James Webb Space Telescope reveals another first: a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even signs of active chemistry and clouds in the distant 'hot Saturn" known as WASP-39 b. CONTENU - Known for beaming stunning images back to Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just scored another first: a molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world's skies.

Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team including scientists is building a complete picture of the atmosphere of the planet WASP-39b. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its unparalleled images of our Universe offer us a new first: by combining several instruments, it draws a molecular and chemical portrait of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-39b.

Studies: Early release science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec G395H Early release science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRSpec PRISM Early release science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRCam Early release science of the exoplanet WASP-39b with JWST NIRISS Direct evidence of photochemistry in an exoplanet atmos NASA's JWST has scored another first in its release of stunning images: a molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world's skies.

Liver cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer. A team of University of Basel researchers has now uncovered how a healthy liver cell turns into a tumor cell. Comprehensive metabolic changes convert mature liver cells into immature progenitor cells. These cells proliferate rapidly and tumors develop.

A breakthrough at the University of Twente is bringing new brain-like computers one step closer. An international group of researchers led by Professor Christian Nijhuis has developed a new type of molecular switch that can learn from previous behaviour.