Dense liquid droplets act as cellular computers

An emerging field explores how groups of molecules condense together inside cells, the way oil droplets assemble and separate from water in a vinaigrette.

Air pollution may increase freezing rain in northern hemisphere

Freezing rain is a typical weather disaster in winter and early spring over many regions of the world, even tropical areas. It develops as supercooled water (below 0 °C) in the air and freezes immediately after depositing ...

Tracking chirality in real time

Chiral molecules exist in two forms, called enantiomers, which are mirror images of each other and non-superimposable—much like a pair of hands. While they share most chemical and physical properties, enantiomers can have ...

A new window into the world of attosecond phenomena

They are everywhere, around us and within us. Phenomena lasting trillionths of a second form the core of chemistry and biology. It is only recently that we have begun to try to accurately record their actual course, with ...

Making chemical separation more eco-friendly with nanotechnology

Chemical separation processes are essential in the manufacturing of many products from gasoline to whiskey. Such processes are energetically costly, accounting for approximately 10–15 percent of global energy consumption. ...

Intense laser light modifies the pairing of electrons

The quantum-mechanical exchange interaction between electrons, a consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle, can be specifically modified with intense infrared light fields on time scales of a few femtoseconds, as time-resolved ...

When a band falls flat: Searching for flatness in materials

Finding the right ingredients to create materials with exotic quantum properties has been a chimera for experimental scientists, due to the endless possible combinations of different elements to be synthesized.

Stimulating the sense of touch with chemistry

Our eyes may be windows on the world, but our fingertips put us in touch with it. To recreate this tactile sense, current technology relies on tiny motors and electricity. However, the bumps and buzzes they generate are not ...

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