Oxidation and reduction are complementary electron-transfer processes that underpin redox chemistry and many biological and industrial transformations. Oxidation is defined as the loss of electrons, an increase in oxidation state, or, in many covalent systems, gain of electronegative substituents (e.g., oxygen) or loss of electropositive ones (e.g., hydrogen). Reduction is the gain of electrons, a decrease in oxidation state, or the converse change in bonding pattern. In any redox reaction, electrons are conserved and transferred from a reductant (electron donor) to an oxidant (electron acceptor), often mediated by redox couples, half-reactions, and characterized quantitatively by standard reduction potentials.
Nitrate contamination of drinking water poses a major health concern, particularly in agricultural communities where fertilizers, livestock manure and septic systems can leach nitrates into groundwater. Many rural households ...
Environment
Jul 24, 2026
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New research from the University of St Andrews has found that metal production carbon footprints could be more than 10 times higher than previously estimated, with serious implications for the ambition to reach net zero.
Earth Sciences
Jul 22, 2026
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74
Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), together with Wismut GmbH and scientists from the University of Granada in Spain, have demonstrated for the first time that bacteria can convert uranium dissolved ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 10, 2026
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1613
A research team at Marburg University has investigated one of the largest enzyme complexes found in nature to date and deciphered its remarkable structure. Under the supervision of Dr. Jan Schuller, Ph.D. student Sophia Paul ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 8, 2026
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14
How do some of geology's most mysterious iron ore deposits form? This question has preoccupied the geosciences for more than a century. An international research team led by Dr. Stefan Peters from the Leibniz Institute for ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2026
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36
New research finds that birds can use lactate, often thought of as a metabolic waste product, as a cellular fuel that aids in rapid recovery from a harmful state that impairs oxygen delivery. Hemoglobin, the protein that ...
Ecology
Jul 7, 2026
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15
Plasma is an ionized gas, often referred to as the fourth state of matter. Plasmas, which are created artificially by applying energy to a gas, are found in the fluorescent tubes that illuminate kitchens. However, they have ...
Nanophysics
Jun 26, 2026
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12
Researchers from Tampere University and the University of Helsinki have identified an unexpected chemical process that may influence the formation of air pollution particles in urban environments. The study shows that nitric ...
Environment
Jun 22, 2026
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305
A molecular geneticist at Montana State University has discovered a cellular process once believed impossible by scientists—the creation of the amino acid cysteine within a living cell when the cell's primary systems for ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 15, 2026
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16
Scientists know that manganese, in its various oxide forms, plays a significant role in Earth's geochemical cycles. However, the exact forms of manganese, their abundance and the mechanisms behind these cycles that occur ...
