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Life Sciences - Chemistry - 11.06.2021

Understanding the evolution of viruses
Researchers at ETH Zurich have recreated a key step in the evolutionary history of viruses in a laboratory experiment. They succeeded in remodeling a natural protein to create capsids capable of storing genetic material. Viruses have always had a major influence on life. They emerged a few billion years ago, precisely when is difficult to estimate.

Chemistry - Computer Science - 10.06.2021

Robot chemist offers insight into the origins of life
A robotic 'evolution machine' capable of exploring the generational development of chemical mixtures over long periods of time could help cast new light on the origins of life, scientists say. A team of chemists from the University of Glasgow developed the robot, which uses a machine-learning algorithm to make decisions about which chemicals from a selection of 18 to combine in a reactor, and how to set conditions under which the reaction occurs.

Environment - Chemistry - 10.06.2021

’Vegan spider silk’ provides sustainable alternative to single-use plastics
Researchers have created a plant-based, sustainable, scalable material that could replace single-use plastics in many consumer products. It was a surprise to find our research could also address a big problem in sustainability: that of plastic pollution Tuomas Knowles The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, created a polymer film by mimicking the properties of spider silk, one of the strongest materials in nature.

Physics - Chemistry - 09.06.2021

New light on making two-dimensional polymers
New 2D-materials tailored by self organization and photopolymerisation An international research team led by members from the Technical University of Munich, the Deutsches Museum, the Linköping University has developed a method to manufacture two-dimensional polymers with the thickness of a single molecule.

Physics - Chemistry - 09.06.2021

Expanding the limits of ferroelectrics
Chiara Gattinoni, a materials theorist and Marie Curie Fellow at ETH Zurich, uses the "Piz Daint" supercomputer at CSCS to investigate a special class of materials: ferroelectrics. In the future, these materials could constitute the heart of low-energy-consuming, miniaturised data storage in electrical devices.

Physics - Chemistry - 09.06.2021

Key to Cleaner Combustion? Look to the Stars
In a decade-long quest, scientists at Berkeley Lab, the University of Hawaii, and Florida International University uncover new clues to the origins of the universe - and land new chemistry for cleaner combustion engines F or nearly half a century, astrophysicists and organic chemists have been on the hunt for the origins of C6H6, the benzene ring - an elegant, hexagonal molecule comprised of 6 carbon and 6 hydrogen atoms.

Physics - Chemistry - 09.06.2021

How catalysts age
PSI researchers have developed a new tomography method with which they can measure chemical properties inside catalyst materials in 3-D extremely precisely and faster than before. The application is equally important for science and industry. The researchers published their results today in the journal Science Advances .

Chemistry - Health - 07.06.2021

Clever biomolecular labelling enables identification of immune cells
Research team led by the University of Göttingen develops new strategy for labelling peptides Biomolecules regulate the biological functions inside every living cell. If scientists can understand the molecular mechanisms of such functions, then it is possible to detect severe dysfunction which can lead to illness.

Chemistry - 02.06.2021

Cutting-edge modelling methods from USI help unlock the secrets of porous material
Most materials have a seemingly smooth surface, but under high magnification, they reveal to be full of tiny holes or pores. Zeolites, in particular, have pores in different sizes that allow them to be used in a range of different applications like catalysis, the branch of chemistry that studies how to accelerate chemical reactions, a fundamental pillar for the chemical industry. However, many fundamental questions remain about what actually happens inside the pores of a zeolite and, more precisely, how water influences the overall behaviour of the system.

Physics - Chemistry - 01.06.2021

Green light on gold atoms
Scientists at EPFL discover that laser-driven rearrangement of just a few gold atoms inside nanoscale antennas can be observed by the naked eye. Image: Plasmonic nano-antennas fabricated at EPFL: gold nanoparticles are deposited on a gold film covered with a layer of molecules. Light emission from defects near the film surface is strongly enhanced by the antenna effect, enabling its detection. Credit: Nicolas Antille (www.nicolasantille.com).

Physics - Chemistry - 27.05.2021

Shiny mega-crystals that build themselves
An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano "Lego bricks" interact with each other with forces vastly different and much weaker than those holding atoms and ions together, they form crystals all by themselves, the structures of which resemble the ones of natural minerals.

Chemistry - 27.05.2021

Understanding membranes better
Team from University of Göttingen and the Hereon present new research strategies   A new class of membranes has the potential to deliver highly interesting applications both in biotechnology and in water purification. The theoretical understanding of these polymer membranes is, however, still incomplete.

Chemistry - Physics - 24.05.2021

Complex molecules could hold the secret to identifying alien life
A new system capable of identifying complex molecular signatures could aid in the search for alien life in the universe and could even lead to the creation of new forms of life in the laboratory, scientists say. University of Glasgow researchers have developed a new method called Assembly Theory which can be used to quantify how assembled or complex a molecule is in the laboratory using techniques like mass spectrometry.

Chemistry - Electroengineering - 20.05.2021

New system to control electronic states of bidimensional organic materials
A collaborative theoretical study involving three groups from the Institute of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry of the University dofe Barcelona (IQTCUB), published , shows how to reversibly switch between electronic states in organic materials. The paper was also featured as an Editor's Highlight and as a Behind the paper article signed by Stefan Bromley, ICREA Research Professor at IQTCUB and principal researcher in this study.

Physics - Chemistry - 20.05.2021

The first nuclear reactor, explained
In 1942, the Manhattan Project needed to create a chain reaction-a crucial step towards proving that it would be possible to make an atomic bomb. They achieved this first sustained chain reaction , the first created by humans, on Dec. 2, 1942, in a squash court at the University of Chicago. Nicknamed "Chicago Pile-1," the world's first nuclear reactor kicked off the Atomic Age and has a complicated legacy, including the rise of both nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.

Physics - Chemistry - 17.05.2021

Diamonds engage both optical microscopy and MRI for better imaging
The microdiamonds used as biological tracers are about 200 microns across, less than one-hundredth of an inch. They fluoresce red but can also be hyperpolarized, allowing them to be detected both optically - by fluorescence microscopy - and by radio-frequency NMR imaging, boosting the power of both techniques.

Chemistry - Life Sciences - 12.05.2021

Enzyme system for the hydrogen industry
Platinum-free biocatalyst for fuel cells and water electrolysis An enzyme could make a dream come true for the energy industry: It can efficiently produce hydrogen using electricity and can also generate electricity from hydrogen. The enzyme is protected by embedding it in a polymer. An international research team with significant participation of scientists from Technical University of Munich (TUM) has presented the system in the renowned science journal Nature Catalysis.

Chemistry - 12.05.2021

Scientists pioneer creation of programmable artificial tissues from synthetic cells
Scientists have created new artificial tissues that mimic some of the complex characteristics and abilities of living tissues, paving the way towards unprecedented advances in medicine, soft-robotics, and micro-engineering. The University of Bristol-led breakthrough, published in Advanced Materials , reports the first way to produce centimetre-sized artificial tissues of any shape and with complex internal structures.

Physics - Chemistry - 12.05.2021

New atomically precise graphene nanoribbon heterojunction sensor developed
A team of physicists and chemists has developed a highly sensitive sensor, which was made possible by a new heterostructure consisting of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons / Publication in 'Nature Communications' An international research team led by the University of Cologne has succeeded for the first time in connecting several atomically precise nanoribbons made of graphene, a modification of carbon, to form complex structures.

Chemistry - Physics - 11.05.2021

Building molecules like Tinkertoys? A breakthrough study may pave the way
Molecules are the building blocks for our modern world, from phones to cars to Doritos. But coming up with new ones is still an incredibly costly and time-consuming process. A group of University of Chicago chemists wants to find a better way. "If you look at a diagram of a molecule, it seems like you should be able to just snap them together like Tinkertoys, but you can't," said Asst.