Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics
Published

Researchers create materials with unique combo of stiffness, thermal insulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated the ability to engineer materials that are both stiff and capable of insulating against heat. This combination of properties is extremely unusual and holds promise for a range of applications, such as the development of new thermal insulation coatings for electronic devices.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Solving the problems of proton-conducting perovskites for next-generation fuel cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As a newly developed perovskite with a large amount of intrinsic oxygen vacancies, BaSc0.8W0.2O2.8 achieves high proton conduction at low and intermediate temperatures, report scientists. By the donor doping of large W6+, this material can take up more water to increase its proton concentration, as well as reduce the proton trapping through electrostatic repulsion between the dopant and proton. These findings could pave the way to the rational design of novel perovskites for protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) and electrolysis cells (PCECs).

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How killifish embryos use suspended animation to survive over 8 months of drought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The African turquoise killifish lives in ephemeral ponds in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. To survive the annual dry season, the fish's embryos enter a state of extreme suspended animation or 'diapause' for approximately 8 months. Now, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms that enabled the killifish to evolve this extreme survival state.

Biology: Biochemistry Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Florida fossil porcupine solves a prickly dilemma 10-million years in the making      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exceptionally rare fossilized porcupine skeleton discovered in Florida has allowed researchers to trace the evolutionary history for one of North America's rarest mammals.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Entomologists have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outdoor-living species in Asia.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Controlling water, transforming greenhouse gases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have outlined a way to manipulate water molecules to make CO2R more efficient, with the ultimate goal of creating a clean energy loop. Through their new method, the team was able to perform CO2R with nearly 100% efficiency under mildly acidic conditions, using either gold or zinc as catalysts.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Observing mammalian cells with superfast soft X-rays      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new technique to view living mammalian cells. The team used a powerful laser, called a soft X-ray free electron laser, to emit ultrafast pulses of illumination at the speed of femtoseconds, or quadrillionths of a second. With this they could capture images of carbon-based structures in living cells for the first time, before the soft X-ray radiation damaged them.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
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Shedding light on the chemical enigma of sulfur trioxide in the atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers discovered that sulfur trioxide can form products other than sulfuric acid in the atmosphere by interacting with organic and inorganic acids. These previously uncharacterized acid sulfuric anhydride products are almost certainly key contributors to atmospheric new particle formation and a way to efficiently incorporate carboxylic acids into atmospheric nanoparticles. Better prediction of aerosol formation can help curb air pollution and reduce uncertainties concerning climate change.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Producing novel liquid crystals by stacking antiaromatic units      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a recent study, researchers developed modified norcorrole molecules whose side chains favored the formation of columnar -stacking structures. Using these compounds, they produced liquid crystals with high electrical conductivity and thermotropic properties. Their findings open up new design avenues for materials useful in electronics, sensing, optics, and biomedicine.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Unlocking complex sulfur molecules: Novel approach for synthesis of functionalized benzenethiol equivalents      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Organosulfur skeletons are crucial in many fields, including pharmaceuticals and electronics. Synthesizing organosulfur skeletons requires o-bromobenzenethiols. However, conventional methods face challenges due to quick oxidation and formation of highly reactive intermediates. Researchers have now developed a new method for synthesizing o-bromobenzenethiols from aryne intermediates via bromothiolation. This method can pave the way for the synthesis of new organosulfur compounds with applications in diverse fields.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Robotics Research
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Researchers design new metal-free porous framework materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used computational design methods to develop non-metal organic porous framework materials, with potential applications in areas such as catalysis, water capture or hydrogen storage.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

Scientists develop new battery-free lactic acid sensor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have created a new type of chemosensor (demonstrated for lactic acid sensing) which functions with electricity but without the need for reference electrodes or battery power.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General
Published

Ethylene from CO2: Building-kit catalyst      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Use of the greenhouse gas CO2 as a chemical raw material would not only reduce emissions, but also the consumption of fossil feedstocks. A novel metal-free organic framework could make it possible to electrocatalytically produce ethylene, a primary chemical raw material, from CO2. Nitrogen atoms with a particular electron configuration play a critical role for the catalyst.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers discover hidden step in dinosaur feather evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists discover 'zoned development' in dinosaur skin, with zones of reptile-style scales and zones of bird-like skin with feathers. A new dinosaur skin fossil has been found to be composed of silica -- the same as glass.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

By listening, scientists learn how a protein folds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By converting their data into sounds, scientists discovered how hydrogen bonds contribute to the lightning-fast gyrations that transform a string of amino acids into a functional, folded protein. Their report offers an unprecedented view of the sequence of hydrogen-bonding events that occur when a protein morphs from an unfolded to a folded state.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: General Engineering: Nanotechnology
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Blueprints of self-assembly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have taken a step closer to replicating nature's processes of self-assembly. The study describes the synthetic construction of a tiny, self-assembled crystal known as a 'pyrochlore,' which bears unique optical properties. The advance provides a steppingstone to the eventual construction of sophisticated, self-assembling devices at the nanoscale -- roughly the size of a single virus.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Seeking stronger steel, systematic look at 120 combinations of alloy elements provides clues      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Investigating ways to create high-performance steel, a research team used theoretical calculations on 120 combinations of 12 alloy elements, such as aluminum and titanium, with carbon and nitrogen, while also systematically clarifying the bonding mechanism.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics
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Diamond glitter: A play of colors with artificial DNA crystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using DNA origami, researchers have built a diamond lattice with a periodicity of hundreds of nanometers -- a new approach for manufacturing semiconductors for visible light.