Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Batteries
Published

Eco-friendly and affordable battery for low-income countries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A battery made from zinc and lignin that can be used over 8000 times. This has been developed with a vision to provide a cheap and sustainable battery solution for countries where access to electricity is limited.

Computer Science: General Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Artificial intelligence tool detects male-female-related differences in brain structure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence (AI) computer programs that process MRI results show differences in how the brains of men and women are organized at a cellular level, a new study shows. These variations were spotted in white matter, tissue primarily located in the human brain's innermost layer, which fosters communication between regions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

How to make ubiquitous plastics biodegradable      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Polystyrene is made from styrene building blocks and is the most widely used plastic in terms of volume, for example in packaging. Unlike PET, which can now be produced and recycled using biotechnological methods, the production of polystyrene has so far been a purely chemical process. The plastic can't be broken down by biotechnological means, either. Researchers are looking for ways to rectify this: An international team decoded a bacterial enzyme that plays a key role in styrene degradation. This paves the way for biotechnological application.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Century of statistical ecology reviewed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A special review examines highly-cited papers in statistical ecology. The review, which covers a century of research, details how models and concepts have evolved alongside increasing computational power.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics Physics: General
Published

New work extends the thermodynamic theory of computation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists and computer scientists have recently expanded the modern theory of the thermodynamics of computation. By combining approaches from statistical physics and computer science, the researchers introduce mathematical equations that reveal the minimum and maximum predicted energy cost of computational processes that depend on randomness, which is a powerful tool in modern computers.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New 'forever chemical' cleanup strategy discovered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A method has been discovered to treat water heavily contaminated with unhealthful forever chemicals, known by chemists as PFAS or poly- and per-fluoroalkyl substances. It involves treating heavily contaminated water with ultraviolet (UV) light, sulfite, and a process called electrochemical oxidation. It breaks up strong fluorine-to-carbon bonds in the PFAS compounds and other concentrated organic compounds in heavily polluted water. The reaction also occurs at room temperature without a need for additional heat or high pressure. This method is expected to be useful in cleanups of PFAS pollution from decades of fire suppressant foam use at military facilities.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene
Published

2D all-organic perovskites: potential use in 2D electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Perovskites are among the most researched topics in materials science. Recently, a research team has solved an age-old challenge to synthesize all-organic two-dimensional perovskites, extending the field into the exciting realm of 2D materials. This breakthrough opens up a new field of 2D all-organic perovskites, which holds promise for both fundamental science and potential applications.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Getting dirty to clean up the chemical industry's environmental impact      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The global chemical industry is a major fossil fuel consumer and climate change contributor; however, new research has identified how the sector could clean up its green credentials by getting dirty.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

An epigenome editing toolkit to dissect the mechanisms of gene regulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology. The system unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications at any specific position in the genome, to understand their causal role in transcription regulation. This innovative approach will help to investigate the role of chromatin modifications in many biological processes, and to program desired gene activity responses, which may prove useful in disease settings.

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

Chemists produce new-to-nature enzyme containing boron      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists created an enzyme with boronic acid at its reactive center. This approach can produce more selective reactions with boron, and allows the use of directed evolution to improve its catalytic power.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General
Published

Why is breaking down plant material for biofuels so slow?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tracking individual enzymes during the breakdown of cellulose for biofuel production has revealed how several roadblocks slow this process when using plant material that might otherwise go to waste. The research may lead to new ways to improve the breakdown process and make the non-edible parts of plants and other plant waste, such as forestry residue, a more competitive source of biofuels.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Better than graphene' material development may improve implantable technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Move over, graphene. There's a new, improved two-dimensional material in the lab. Borophene, the atomically thin version of boron first synthesized in 2015, is more conductive, thinner, lighter, stronger and more flexible than graphene, the 2D version of carbon. Now, researchers have made the material potentially more useful by imparting chirality -- or handedness -- on it, which could make for advanced sensors and implantable medical devices.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Caterbot? Robatapillar? It crawls with ease through loops and bends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers created a catapillar-shaped robot that splits into segments and reassembles, hauls cargo, and crawls through twisting courses.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

High-pressure spectroscopy: Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Why 3,000 bars are needed to take a comprehensive look at a protein: Researchers present a new high-pressure spectroscopy method to unravel the properties of proteins' native structures.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

New approach in the synthesis of complex natural substances      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many natural substances possess interesting characteristics, and can form the basis of new active compounds in medicine. Terpenes, for example, are a group of substances, some of which are already used in therapies against cancer, malaria or epilepsy. They are found as fragrances in cosmetics or as flavorings in food, and form the basis of new medications: Terpenes are natural substances that occur in plants, insects and sea sponges. They are difficult to produce synthetically. However, chemists are now introducing a new method of synthesis.

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

Researchers create new chemical compound to solve 120-year-old problem      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists have created a highly reactive chemical compound that has eluded scientists for more than 120 years. The discovery could lead to new drug treatments, safer agricultural products, and better electronics.

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

Scientists solve chemical mystery at the interface of biology and technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) allow current to flow in devices like implantable biosensors. But scientists long knew about a quirk of OECTs that no one could explain: When an OECT is switched on, there is a lag before current reaches the desired operational level. When switched off, there is no lag. Current drops immediately. Researchers report that they have discovered the reason for this activation lag, and in the process are paving the way to custom-tailored OECTs for a growing list of applications in biosensing, brain-inspired computation and beyond.

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

When does a conductor not conduct?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study uncovers a switchable, atomically-thin metal-organic material that could be used in future low-energy electronic technologies. The study shows that electron interactions in this material create an unusual electrically-insulating phase in which electrons are 'frozen'. By reducing the population of electrons, the authors are able to unfreeze the remaining electrons, allowing for controlled transitions between insulating and electrically-conductive phases: the key to the on-off binary operations of classical computing.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published

Getting dynamic information from static snapshots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created TopicVelo, a powerful new method of using the static snapshots from scRNA-seq to study how cells and genes change over time. This will help researchers better study how embryos develop, cells differentiate, cancers form, and the immune system reacts.