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Life Sciences - Chemistry - 26.05.2023

A smart chip based on the human brain
Eveline van Doremaele received her doctorate cum laude from the Department of Mechanical Engineering on Thursday, May 25. Current computer systems are very good at performing exact calculations. But as we are using more and more AI-based applications, we also need more efficient systems that are able to process data in real time with the same precision.

Physics - Chemistry - 26.05.2023

Emergence of solvated dielectrons observed for the first time
Team in conjunction with the University of Freiburg generates low-energy electrons using ultraviolet light Solvated dielectrons are the subject of many hypotheses among scientists, but have never been directly observed. They are described as a pair of electrons that is dissolved in liquids such as water or liquid ammonia.

Physics - Chemistry - 25.05.2023

Making the structure of ’fire ice’ with nanoparticles
The structure harnesses a strange physical phenomenon and could enable engineers to manipulate light in new ways Study: Entropy compartmentalization stabilizes open host-guest colloidal Clathrates. (DOI: 10.1038/s41557'023 -01200-6) Cage structures made with nanoparticles could be a route toward making organized nanostructures with mixed materials, and researchers at the University of Michigan have shown how to achieve this through computer simulations.

Chemistry - Physics - 24.05.2023

Watching Molecules Relax in Real Time
Designing the next generation of efficient energy conversion devices for powering our electronics and heating our homes requires a detailed understanding of how molecules move and vibrate while undergoing light-induced chemical reactions. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ÜBerkeley Lab) have now visualized the distortions of chemical bonds in a methane molecule after it absorbs light, loses an electron, and then relaxes.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 22.05.2023

New insights into the complex neurochemistry of ants
Ants- brains are amazingly sophisticated organs that enable them to coordinate complex behaviour patterns such as the organisation of colonies. Now, a group of researchers led by Christian Gruber of MedUni Vienna's Institute of Pharmacology have developed a method that allows them to study ants- brain chemistry and gain insights into the insects- neurobiological processes.

Environment - Chemistry - 22.05.2023

Vinegar could be secret ingredient in fight against climate crisis
Chemical engineers at Monash University have developed an industrial process to produce acetic acid that uses the excess carbon dioxide(CO2) in the atmosphere, and has a potential to create negative carbon emissions. This world-first research, published in Nature Communications , shows that acetic acid can be made from captured CO2 using an economical solid catalyst to replace the liquid rhodium or iridium based catalysts currently used.

Chemistry - Environment - 18.05.2023

Driving on sunshine: clean, usable liquid fuels made from solar power
Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car-s engine as drop-in fuel. Shining sunlight on the artificial leaves and getting liquid fuel from carbon dioxide and water is an amazing bit of chemistry Motiar Rahaman The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, harnessed the power of photosynthesis to convert CO2, water and sunlight into multicarbon fuels - ethanol and propanol - in a single step.

Chemistry - Pharmacology - 17.05.2023

New method to synthesise cannabis plant compound
Cis-tetrahydrocannabinoids can now be produced synthetically, enabling pharmaceutical applications A group of researchers at Leipzig University has developed a new method for synthesising cis-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - a natural substance found in the cannabis plant that produces the characteristic psychoactive effect and has many potential applications, including in the pharmaceutical industry.

Environment - Chemistry - 17.05.2023

African Smoke Over the Amazon
At certain times in the year, more soot particles reach the Amazon rainforest from bush fires in Africa than from regional fires. Up to two-thirds of the soot above the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. These are the results of a study that has now been published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.

Health - Chemistry - 16.05.2023

New molecule to target and eradicate cancer cells with light
Scientists have designed a molecule that can accumulate in cancer cells specifically and become toxic upon exposure to light. Scientists from the CNRS, ENS de Lyon, University of Angers, and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University, in collaboration with colleagues from Swedish and South Korean institutions, have developed a new molecule that selectively accumulates in cancer cells and, after exposure to light, turns toxic.

Environment - Chemistry - 16.05.2023

Deep-sea impacts of climate interventions
Waterloo professor is part of an emerging field that calls for establishing a governance framework for ocean-based climate interventions Faculty of Environment From its current capacity as a carbon sink to its potential as a site for generating renewable energy, and managing solar radiation, the ocean is increasingly at the forefront of discussions around climate mitigation strategies. However, efforts to develop ocean-based climate interventions expose the ocean to various threats that harm biodiversity, pollute, and change its very chemistry.

Materials Science - Chemistry - 12.05.2023

New glass from the computer
Glass is a very special material: it can be produced in almost unlimited variety from compounds of almost all elements of the periodic table. The only prerequisite is that the components can be melted together and that the melt is then cooled quickly enough. In the process, the liquid mixture solidifies and forms a glass.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 12.05.2023

With formic acid towards CO2 neutrality
New synthetic metabolic pathways for fixation of carbon dioxide could not only help to reduce the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere, but also replace conventional chemical manufacturing processes for pharmaceuticals and active ingredients with carbon-neutral, biological processes. A new study demonstrates a process that can turn carbon dioxide into a valuable material for the biochemical industry via formic acid.

Environment - Chemistry - 12.05.2023

Machine Learning Fights Global Warming
Among all greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide is the highest contributor to global warming. Without action by 2100, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average temperature of the world will increase by about 1.5 degrees Celsius. Finding effective ways to capture and store carbon dioxide has been a challenge for researchers and industries focused on combating global warming - Amir Barati Farimani has been working to change that.

Physics - Chemistry - 12.05.2023

New ways for exotic quasiparticles to ’relax’
A perovskite-based device that combines aspects of electronics and photonics may open doors to new kinds of computer chips or quantum qubits. New findings from a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere could help pave the way for new kinds of devices that efficiently bridge the gap between matter and light.

Chemistry - Physics - 11.05.2023

Catalyst cleans up CO2 better with different preparation
An international research team led by Bert Weckhuysen  (Utrecht University) and Sara Bals (University of Antwerp) has shown that a promising catalyst for clearing CO2 becomes significantly more active and selective if its pretreatment is modified. The scientists visualized the mechanism underlying this concept with unparalleled precision.

Environment - Chemistry - 10.05.2023

Climate change leads to disproportionately high pollutant absorption
Pesticides and other chemicals harm biodiversity, and climate change is also threatening many habitats. With his study, Eawag researcher Johannes Raths has shown that these two challenges for our society may even worsen. Amphipods absorbed pollutants faster as water temperatures rose. The researcher has received an award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry for his paper on the toxicokinetics of amphipods in combination with increased water temperatures.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 10.05.2023

PeSTo: a new AI tool for predicting protein interactions
Scientists at EPFL have developed PeSTo, an AI model for predicting protein binding interfaces with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, ions, and small molecules with high confidence. The model's low computational cost enables the processing large amounts of structural data, opening up opportunities for discovering new biology.

Environment - Chemistry - 09.05.2023

African smoke over the Amazon
More soot particles reach the central Amazon rainforest from brush fires in Africa than from regional fires at some times. Up to two-thirds of the soot over the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. This is the result of a study now published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 08.05.2023

Tiny Microbes Could Brew Big Benefits for Green Biomanufacturing
Key Takeaways Scientists have engineered bacteria to produce new-to-nature carbon products that could provide a powerful route to sustainable biochemicals. The breakthrough offers sustainable alternatives to chemical manufacturing processes that typically rely on fossil fuels. This advance could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of fuels, drugs, and chemicals.