news

History / Archeology - Chemistry - 01.02.2023

The chemistry of mummification - Traces of a global network
Analyzing the residue on vessels in a mummification workshop has given a team of researchers from LMU Munich and the University of fresh insights into how the ancient Egyptians embalmed the bodies of their dead. The archeologists have been able to determine what substances were used for which part of the body.

Physics - Chemistry - 01.02.2023

New discovery may be key to controlling chemical reactions
Unexpected resonance frequencies observed in reactions between two molecules A new study published today in Nature is changing our understanding of chemical reactions and overturning previous theoretical models by finding an unexpected resonance frequency during the reaction of two molecules. Resonance is when one object vibrating at the same natural frequency as a second object forces that second object into vibrational motion.

Physics - Chemistry - 01.02.2023

Physicists observe rare resonance in molecules for the first time
The findings could provide a new way to control chemical reactions. Close If she hits just the right pitch, a singer can shatter a wine glass. The reason is resonance. While the glass may vibrate slightly in response to most acoustic tones, a pitch that resonates with the material's own natural frequency can send its vibrations into overdrive, causing the glass to shatter.

Chemistry - 01.02.2023

Engineers invent vertical, full-color microscopic LEDs
Stacking light-emitting diodes instead of placing them side by side could enable fully immersive virtual reality displays and higher-resolution digital screens. Close Take apart your laptop screen, and at its heart you'll find a plate patterned with pixels of red, green, and blue LEDs, arranged end to end like a meticulous Lite Brite display.

Physics - Chemistry - 30.01.2023

New algorithm enables simulation of complex quantum systems
An international team of scientists from the University of Luxembourg, Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) at TU Berlin and Google has now successfully developed a machine learning algorithm to tackle large and complex quantum systems. The article has been published in the renowned journal Science Advances.

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 26.01.2023

Evolutionary Tuning of a Cellular ’Powerhouse’
Researchers in Freiburg and Bonn provide the first comprehensive mapping of the protein machineries in the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell Mitochondria are membrane-enclosed structures found in all cells of higher organisms, where they produce most of the necessary energy ("powerhouses of the cell").

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 26.01.2023

Evolutionary tuning of a cellular ’power plant’
Researchers from Freiburg and Bonn succeed in the first comprehensive description of the protein machines in the mitochondria, the power plants of the cell. Mitochondria are membrane-enveloped structures found in all cells of higher organisms, where they produce most of the necessary energy ("power plants of the cell").

Physics - Chemistry - 25.01.2023

The Last Mysteries of Mica
A well-known mineral is once again the center of attention thanks to applications in electronics: the Vienna University of Technology shows that mica still has surprises in store. At first glance, mica is something quite ordinary: it is a common mineral, found in granite for example, and has been extensively studied from geological, chemical and technical perspectives.

Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 24.01.2023

Space collaboration including Sussex scientist makes icy discovery which sheds light on the building blocks of life
In a development believed to shed light on the building blocks of life, an international team of scientists, including Prof Wendy Brown from the University of Sussex, has discovered diverse ices in the darkest, coldest regions of space so-far measured, which are around 500 light years from Earth. The discovery within a molecular cloud was made by scientists from the IceAge project, an international consortium of academics using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to observe the building blocks of life.

Physics - Chemistry - 24.01.2023

Scientists open new window on the physics of glass formation
Research from an international team of scientists has cast new light on the physics of vitrification - the process by which glass forms. Their findings, which centre on analysis of a common feature of glasses called the boson peak, could help pave the way for new developments in materials science. The peak can be observed in glass when special equipment is used to study the vibrations of its constituent atoms, where it spikes in the terahertz range.

Health - Chemistry - 24.01.2023

Actin affects the spread of cancer in several ways
The transport of molecules along the cell's skeleton plays a role in cancer metastasis, Freiburg researchers show Metastases occur when cancer cells leave a primary tumor and spread throughout the body. For this, they have to break connections with neighboring cells and migrate to other tissues. Both processes are promoted by signalling molecules released by the cancer cells, which thereby increase the malignancy of tumors.

Physics - Chemistry - 23.01.2023

Colour images from the shadow of a sample
Researchers at Göttingen University develop new method for X-ray colour imaging A research team at the University of Göttingen has developed a new method to produce X-ray images in colour. In the past, the only way to determine the chemical composition of a sample and the position of its components using X-ray fluorescence analysis was to focus the X-rays and scan the whole sample.

Chemistry - Environment - 23.01.2023

New catalyst design could make better use of captured carbon, researchers say
A new catalyst design created by researchers at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering could significantly improve the practicality of an electrochemical process that converts captured carbon dioxide into multi-carbon molecules - some of the key building blocks of the chemical industry.

Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 23.01.2023

James Webb Space Telescope identifies origins of icy building blocks of life
Interstellar molecular clouds are considered to be the birth sites of planetary systems. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, an international research team including the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS discovered the deepest and coldest ice ever detected in such a molecular cloud.

Chemistry - Innovation - 20.01.2023

Researchers unravel the complex reaction pathways in zero carbon fuel synthesis
Researchers have used isotopes of carbon to trace how carbon dioxide emissions could be converted into low-carbon fuels and chemicals. The result could help the chemical industry, which is the third largest subsector in terms of direct CO2 emissions, recycle its own waste using current manufacturing processes.

Physics - Chemistry - 20.01.2023

Physical effect also valid in the quantum world
Researchers at the University of Bonn confirm validity of a central theorem of physics for Bose-Einstein condensates Physicists at the University of Bonn have experimentally proven that an important theorem of statistical physics applies to so-called "Bose-Einstein condensates." Their results now make it possible to measure certain properties of the quantum "superparticles" and deduce system characteristics that would otherwise be difficult to observe.

Chemistry - Health - 19.01.2023

UCLA chemists are first to synthesize ocean-based molecule that could fight Parkinson’s
Science + Technology In producing lissodendoric acid A, the team used a method they say may help accelerate the process of drug discovery Science + Technology In producing lissodendoric acid A, the team used a method they say may help accelerate the process of drug discovery -Recreating natural molecules in the laboratory as part of the search for potential new drugs for disease can be difficult, costly and slow.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 18.01.2023

Stefan Rüdiger appointed as Professor of Protein Chemistry of Disease
Utrecht University has appointed Stefan Rüdiger as Professor of Protein Chemistry of Disease. Chemist Rüdiger and his group aim to tackle diseases that are caused by protein misfolding, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. They focus on how chaperones, proteins that aid other proteins to fold into their proper shape, control protein quality.

Physics - Chemistry - 18.01.2023

A new, better technology for X-ray laser pulses
Simpler and much more efficient than ever before: A new technology for producing X-ray laser pulses has been developed at TU Wien. The X-rays used to examine a broken leg in hospital are easy to produce. In industry, however, X-ray radiation of a completely different kind is needed - namely, X-ray laser pulses that are as short and high-energy as possible.

Environment - Chemistry - 18.01.2023

Underlying assumptions of air quality need to be redefined
Long-term measurements in the urban area of Innsbruck, Austria, show that the fraction of ozone near the surface tends to be overestimated in atmospheric models. Consequently, a fundamental assumption for air quality forecasting has to be reinterpreted for urban areas. Measurements by an international team led by atmospheric scientist Thomas Karl of the University of Innsbruck also show that direct nitrogen dioxide emissions are overestimated.