Atomic and molecular structure as a research area investigates the spatial arrangement, electronic configuration, and intrinsic quantum properties of atoms and molecules, and how these features determine their spectroscopic, chemical, and physical behavior. It encompasses theoretical and computational methods (e.g., ab initio quantum chemistry, density functional theory, configuration interaction) and experimental techniques (e.g., high-resolution spectroscopy, scattering, synchrotron and XFEL-based probes) to resolve electronic states, bonding patterns, potential energy surfaces, and correlation effects. This field underpins understanding of reactivity, photophysics, materials properties, and the design of novel molecules, clusters, and nanostructures with targeted electronic and structural characteristics.
For more than 50 years, scientists have sought alternatives to silicon for building molecular electronics. The vision was elegant; the reality proved far more complex. Within a device, molecules behave not as orderly textbook ...
Nanomaterials
Dec 30, 2025
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146
Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä have discovered a simple way to program synthetic molecules so they can form specific spiral-like structures by embedding instructions directly into their sequence. This breakthrough ...
Biotechnology
Dec 11, 2025
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40
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have shown that DNA inflexibility, or rigidity, inside the nucleosome regulates the positioning of INO80. This highlights that the physical structure and shape ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 24, 2025
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45
A research team from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology (APM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made significant progress in precisely measuring the vibrational-rotational spectra ...
General Physics
Nov 14, 2025
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78
Pictures of DNA often look very tidy—the strands of the double helix neatly wind around each other, making it seem like studying genetics should be relatively straightforward. In truth, these strands aren't often so perfectly ...
Biotechnology
Nov 11, 2025
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44
Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have created a database that provides updated predicted structures on a regular basis, ensuring scientists can work with the most current information.
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 11, 2025
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23
A research group at The University of Tokyo has discovered a new principle by which helical chiral molecules acquire spin through molecular vibrations, enabling them to adhere to magnets. Until now, it was believed that chiral ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 29, 2025
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186
If you think of a single atom as a grain of sand, then a wavelength of visible light—which is a thousand times larger than the atom's width—is comparable to an ocean wave. The light wave can dwarf an atom, missing it entirely ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 22, 2025
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41
In 1867, Lord Kelvin imagined atoms as knots in the aether. The idea was soon disproven. Atoms turned out to be something else entirely. But his discarded vision may yet hold the key to why the universe exists.
General Physics
Oct 22, 2025
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938
For decades, it's been known that subtle chemical patterns exist in metal alloys, but researchers thought they were too minor to matter—or that they got erased during manufacturing. However, recent studies have shown that ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 8, 2025
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72
