Chemistry
Chemists produce star-shaped macromolecule that grabs large anions
June 17, 2013 8:02 am | News | Comments
Chemists at Indiana Univ. Bloomington have created a symmetrical, five-sided macrocycle that is easy to synthesize and has characteristics that may help expand the molecular tool box available to researchers in biology, chemistry and materials sciences.
Underwater springs show how coral reefs respond to ocean acidification
June 17, 2013 7:06 pm | News | Comments
A recent study is the first to show that corals are not able to fully acclimate to low...
New type of nanosheet offers fast pollutant degradation
June 17, 2013 6:56 pm | News | Comments
Waste from textile and paint industries often contains organic dyes such as methylene...
Polymer-coated catalyst protects "artificial leaf"
June 17, 2013 6:42 pm | News | Comments
Electrolysis is often used to produce hydrogen that can be used for a storable fuel....
Less is more: Novel cellulose structure requires fewer enzymes to process biomass to fuel
June 19, 2013 4:49 pm | News | CommentsImproved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic—or non-food—plant derived biomass.
Researchers design variant of main painkiller receptor
June 18, 2013 1:04 pm | News | CommentsOpioids are still the most effective class of painkillers, but they come with unwanted side effects. Designing new drugs of this type involves testing them on their corresponding receptors, but access to meaningful quantities of these receptors that work in experimental conditions has been a limiting factor. Now, researchers have developed a variant of the mu opioid receptor that has several advantages when it comes to experimentation.
Is artificial sweetener a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease?
June 17, 2013 11:42 am | News | CommentsMannitol, a sugar alcohol produced by fungi, bacteria and algae, is a common component of sugar-free gum and candy. The sweetener is also used in the medical field. Now a team from Tel Aviv Univ. have found that mannitol also prevents clumps of a protein from forming in the brain—a process that is characteristic of Parkinson's disease.
Noble gases hitch a ride on hydrous minerals
June 17, 2013 7:43 am | by Kevin Stacey, Brown Univ. | News | CommentsThe noble gases get their collective moniker from their tendency toward snobbishness. The six elements in the family, which includes helium and neon, don’t normally bond with other elements and they don’t dissolve into minerals the way other gases do. But now, geochemists from Brown Univ. have found a mineral structure with which the nobles deign to fraternize.
New synthesis could make biofuel more appealing for mass production
June 17, 2013 7:32 am | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMassachusetts Institute of Technology chemical engineers have devised a cheaper way to synthesize a key biofuel component, which could make its industrial production much more cost effective. The compound, known as gamma-valerolactone (GVL), is attractive because of its versatility. It has more energy than ethanol and could be used on its own or as an additive to other fuels.
Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives
June 13, 2013 1:57 pm | News | CommentsCheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. A Penn State Univ. research team has found that an important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered—or catalyzed—by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.
Detecting homemade explosives, not toothpaste
June 13, 2013 7:52 am | News | CommentsSandia National Laboratories researchers want airports, border checkpoints and others to detect homemade explosives made with hydrogen peroxide without nabbing people whose toothpaste happens to contain peroxide. That’s part of the challenge faced in developing a portable sensor to detect a common homemade explosive called a FOx mixture, made by mixing hydrogen peroxide with fuels.
Unfrozen mystery: Water reveals a new secret
June 11, 2013 8:36 am | News | CommentsA collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers and a team led by the Carnegie Institution for Science's Malcolm Guthrie has led to discoveries about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. The findings could alter scientists' understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science.
Mismatched materials can be tough enough
June 11, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsRice Univ. researchers have for the first time detailed the molecular mechanism that makes a particular combination of cement and polymer glue so tough. The theoretical research led to a fine picture of how hydrogen bonds control the properties of hybrid organic-inorganic materials. The finding has implications for understanding the interface bonding that is often a roadblock to improved composite properties.
Weapons testing data determines brain makes new neurons into adulthood
June 10, 2013 8:36 am | News | CommentsUsing data derived from nuclear weapons testing of the 1950s and '60s, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that a small portion of the human brain involved in memory makes new neurons well into adulthood. The research may have profound impacts on human behavior and mental health.
Study provides framework for understanding the energetics of ionic liquids
June 7, 2013 4:25 pm | News | CommentsA new study by researchers at Univ. of California, Santa Barbara provides clues into the understanding of the behavior of the charged molecules or particles in ionic liquids. The new framework may lead to the creation of cleaner, more sustainable and nontoxic batteries, and other sources of chemical power.
Quantum teleportation demonstrated between atomic systems
June 6, 2013 2:34 pm | News | CommentsResearchers have been able to teleport information from light to light at a quantum level for several years. Now, a research group at the Niels Bohr Institute has succeeded in teleporting information between two clouds of gas atoms and to carry out the teleportation—not just one or a few times, but successfully every single time.
Recent Advancements in Polymer Characterization
June 6, 2013 12:17 pm | by Ed Bouvier, Manager, Advanced Materials Research Group, Mia Summers, Principal Applications Chemist, and Michael O’Leary, Principal Scientist, Chemical Materials Business Operations, Waters Corp., Milford, Mass. | Articles | CommentsInnovation in liquid chromatography instrument design and column technology over the last decade has led to substantial improvements in chromatographic throughput and resolution. This has been achieved by enabling the system to achieve pressures up to 15,000 psi, reducing the system contributions to peak broadening, and utilizing well-packed columns containing sub-2-micron particles.
All-solid sulfur-based battery outperforms lithium-ion technology
June 5, 2013 2:59 pm | News | CommentsScientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today's electronics. The ORNL battery design, which uses abundant low-cost elemental sulfur, also addresses flammability concerns experienced by other chemistries.
Life on Earth comes from out of this world
June 5, 2013 10:33 am | News | CommentsEarly Earth was not very hospitable when it came to jump starting life. In fact, new research shows that life on Earth may have come from out of this world. A team of scientists found that icy comets that crashed into Earth millions of years ago could have produced life building organic compounds, including the building blocks of proteins and nucleobases pairs of DNA and RNA.
Ultrasensitive polymer detects explosive devices
June 5, 2013 8:17 am | by Anne Ju, Cornell University | News | CommentsA chemical that’s often the key ingredient in improvised explosive devices can be quickly and safely detected in trace amounts by a new polymer created by a team of Cornell Univ. chemists. The polymer, which potentially could be used in low-cost, handheld explosive detectors and could supplement or replace bomb-sniffing dogs, was invented in the lab of William Dichtel, assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology.
A new light shines on dense hydrogen
June 4, 2013 7:35 am | News | CommentsNew work from Carnegie Institution scientists has studied how hydrogen, as a solid in one of three phases, behaves under extreme conditions. The team examined the structure, bonding, and electronic properties of highly compressed hydrogen using intense infrared radiation. Their experiments revealed that hydrogen takes a form under these conditions that differs remarkably from its other known structures.
Molecular switch for cheaper biofuel
June 3, 2013 8:25 am | News | CommentsBiofuel is often obtained from starchy plants—but this places fuel production in competition with food production. At the Vienna Univ. of Technology, genetically modified mold fungi are created, which have the ability to break down long cellulose and xylan chains into smaller sugar molecules. This could make the production of biofuel a lot cheaper.
Fine-tuning emissions from quantum dots
June 3, 2013 7:42 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsTiny particles of matter called quantum dots, which emit light with exceptionally pure and bright colors, have found a prominent role as biological markers. In addition, they are realizing their potential in computer and television screens, and have promise in solid-state lighting. New research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology could now make these quantum dots even more efficient at delivering precisely tuned colors of light.
New imaging tool directly measures liquid surfaces
May 31, 2013 8:09 am | News | CommentsA unique chemical imaging tool readily and reliably presents volatile liquids to scientific instruments, according to a team including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These instruments require samples be held in a vacuum, which is often incompatible with hydrocarbons and other liquids.
Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen to sustain life on Mars
May 30, 2013 1:27 pm | News | CommentsAccording to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder, a chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen "food" to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents.
A new kind of chemical glue
May 30, 2013 7:36 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsOver the past three decades, researchers have found various applications of a method for attaching molecules to gold; the approach uses chemicals called thiols to bind the materials together. But while this technique has led to useful devices for electronics, sensing and nanotechnology, it has limitations. Now, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team has found a new material that could overcome many of these limitations.
Organic polymers show sunny potential
May 29, 2013 8:25 am | News | CommentsA new version of solar cells created by laboratories at Rice and Pennsylvania State universities could open the door to research on a new class of solar energy devices. The photovoltaic devices are based on block copolymers, self-assembling organic materials that arrange themselves into distinct layers. They easily outperform other cells with polymer compounds as active elements.
Ultraselective process discovered to make valuable chemical from biomass
May 29, 2013 7:29 am | News | CommentsChemical engineering researchers Wei Fan, Paul Dauenhauer, and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they’ve discovered a new chemical process to make p-xylene, an important ingredient of common plastics, at 90% yield from lignocellulosic biomass, the highest yield achieved to date.
Scientists develop powerful method for finding therapeutic antibodies
May 23, 2013 1:59 pm | News | CommentsScientists at The Scripps Research Institute have devised a powerful new technique for finding antibodies that have a desired biological effect. Antibodies, which can bind to billions of distinct targets, are already used in many of the world’s best-selling medicines, diagnostics, and laboratory reagents. The newly reported technique should greatly speed the process of discovering such products.
