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Categories: Chemistry: Organic Chemistry, Ecology: Research

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Cold, flu and COVID-19 season brings that now-familiar ritual: swab, wait, look at the result. But what if, instead of taking 15 minutes or more, a test could quickly determine whether you have COVID-19 with a glowing chemical? In a new study, researchers describe a potential COVID-19 test inspired by bioluminescence. Using a molecule found in crustaceans, they have developed a rapid approach that detects SARS-CoV-2 protein comparably to one used in vaccine research.

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Chemists have mapped how proton-coupled electron transfers happen at the surface of an electrode. Their results could help researchers design more efficient fuel cells, batteries, or other energy technologies.

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Climate change is causing Western U.S. forests to be less effective carbon sinks, even as it boosts the productivity of forests in the Eastern U.S., according to new research.

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Fossils of kelp along the Pacific Coast are rare. Until now, the oldest fossil dated from 14 million years ago, leading to the view that today's denizens of the kelp forest -- marine mammals, urchins, sea birds -- coevolved with kelp. A recent amateur discovery pushes back the origin of kelp to 32 million years ago, long before these creatures appeared. A new analysis suggests the first kelp grazers were extinct, hippo-like animals called desmostylians.

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RNA is thought to have sparked the origin of life by self-copying. Researchers have now revealed the atomic structure of an 'RNA copy machine' through cryo-EM. This breakthrough sheds light on a primordial RNA world and fuels advancements in RNA nanotechnology and medicine.

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In organic optoelectronic devices, the control of molecular deposition on thin films is important for optimal surface arrangement and device performance. In a recent study, researchers developed a new method for achieving stable deposition on thin films effectively. They also developed a tool to track real-time potential changes on the surface. These findings are expected to aid the improvement of organic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes, in terms of efficacy and durability.

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Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is now one step closer to leaving the lab and entering the real world. Researchers have developed an OCM catalyst that exceeds 30 percent when it comes to the production of ethylene.

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Researchers have developed a unique catalyst that promises to revolutionize drug synthesis. It overcomes a common problem associated with the production of drugs from ketones. Using their catalyst, the researchers synthesized a key component of the commonly used incontinence drug oxybutynin. Their results underscore the potential of the catalyst to improve drug discovery and development.

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Researchers use light-reactive molecules to influence the acidity of a liquid and thereby capture of carbon dioxide. They have developed a special mixture of different solvents to ensure that the light-reactive molecules remain stable over a long period of time. Conventional carbon capture technologies are driven by temperature or pressure differences and require a lot of energy. This is no longer necessary with the new light-based process.

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Researchers are using crystallography to gain a better understanding of how proteins shapeshift. The knowledge can provide valuable insight into stopping and treating diseases.

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Some invasive plants can form persistent banks of seeds that remain under the soil for years, and this makes their eradication practically impossible. Over time, this invisible population of large quantities of living, buried plants -- in seed form -- will reoccupy ecosystems and displace the typical flora of the natural environment.

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Scientists have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses. Their strategy uses tandem electrochemical and thermochemical reactions run at relatively low temperatures and ambient pressure and could successfully lock carbon away to offset or even achieve negative carbon emissions.

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Researchers have resolved a problem that has limited the environmental sustainability of peracid synthesis. By judicious choice of the solvent and light input, approximately room-temperature autoxidation of aldehydes proceeds in a manner that results in industrially useful peracids or carboxylic acids. This work is an important advance in green chemistry that will help minimize the carbon footprint of the chemical industry.

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In nature, organic molecules are either left- or right-handed, but synthesizing molecules with a specific 'handedness' in a lab is hard to do. Make a drug or enzyme with the wrong 'handedness,' and it just won't work. Now chemists are getting closer to mimicking nature's chemical efficiency through computational modeling and physical experimentation.

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The widely used dry-cleaning and degreasing solvent perc can be converted to useful chemicals by a new clean, safe and inexpensive procedure. The discovery using on-demand UV activation may open the path to upcycling perc and thus contribute to a more sustainable society.

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New research has revealed how light can be used to destroy infectious coronavirus particles that contaminate surfaces. Scientists are interested in how environments, such as surgeries, can be thoroughly disinfected from viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A new study shows that human hunting and land use have a decisive influence on red deer density in Europe. Red deer density is only reduced when wolves, lynx and bears co-occur at the same site.

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Peatlands are affected more by drought than expected. This is concerning, as these ecosystems are an important ally in the fight against climate change. Following long periods of drought, peat is able to absorb little to no extra carbon (CO2). Increasing biodiversity also does little to make peat more drought-resilient.

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Researchers have found almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world's tropical forests. The study of over one million trees across 1,568 locations found that just 2.2% of tree species make up 50% of the total number of trees in tropical forests across Africa, the Amazon, and Southeast Asia. Each continent consists of the same proportion of a few common species and many rare species.

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Researchers have been studying the effects of climate change on coral reefs. Monitoring two coral species off the coast of Hawaii, one team found that local adaptations in response to near-severe heat stress allowed certain populations to endure such events.