https://phys.org/chemistry-news/chemistry-other/ en-us The latest science news on composition, structure, and properties of matter One of the main reasons wine traditionally comes in bottles is to protect its quality. Glass is nonreactive, and the cork or screw cap provides an airtight seal that prevents oxygen from spoiling the liquid. In recent years, a new rival has appeared on the scene—aluminum cans. But there are concerns that the metal may interact with the wine, altering its unique flavor. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-aluminum-cans-viable-alternative-bottles.html Other Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:18:43 EST news686225905 Christmas means different things to different people. For me, it's an opportunity to eat celebratory foods that aren't available all year round. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-flaming-dessert-scientist-chemistry-christmas.html Other Wed, 24 Dec 2025 08:58:16 EST news685789081 The perception of a chemist varies. Some might imagine the "mad scientist" from old cartoons—a white-haired older man working with beakers in his lab—but as that cliche fades, the reality of what constitutes a chemist's job might likewise need an update. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-mold-real-chemist.html Other Thu, 11 Dec 2025 17:00:02 EST news684680194 Arsenic is a natural component of Earth's crust and highly toxic in its inorganic form. The element is a cause of a global public health crisis, as it is present in groundwater and the drinking water consumed daily by millions of people in countries such as Bangladesh, China, India, Mexico and Pakistan. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-chemical-treatment-deadly-arsenic-contaminant.html Materials Science Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:01:52 EDT news680173294 Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their development of new molecular structures that can trap vast quantities of gas inside, laying the groundwork to potentially suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere or harvest moisture from desert environments. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-scientists-nobel-prize-chemistry-metal.html Materials Science Wed, 08 Oct 2025 05:55:01 EDT news679121691 Cats, dust mites, mold, trees; for people with allergies, even a brief whiff of the airborne allergens these organisms produce can lead to swollen eyes, itchy skin and impaired breathing. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-uv-disable-airborne-allergens-minutes.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 22 Sep 2025 06:06:05 EDT news677739961 A new trick for modeling molecules with quantum accuracy takes a step toward revealing the equation at the center of a popular simulation approach, which is used in fundamental chemistry and materials science studies. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-approach-accuracy-quantum-chemistry-simulations.html Materials Science Sat, 20 Sep 2025 02:30:38 EDT news677554223 Researchers are merging multidisciplinary expertise with AI tools to document, reconstruct and preserve Europe's historical scents. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-reviving-europe-historical-scents-hell.html Analytical Chemistry Sat, 28 Jun 2025 12:00:01 EDT news670244189 Peering through a microscope, food scientist Raquel Gomez studies microorganisms that add nutrients and preserve tortillas for several weeks without refrigerators—a luxury in impoverished Mexican communities. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-scientists-mexico-tortilla-people-fridge.html Other Tue, 13 May 2025 04:30:56 EDT news666329448 Art and science are sometimes poles apart, but that isn't the case in a research project described in ACS Omega. For this work, an interdisciplinary team merged scientific research, technological advancements and artistic exploration to experiment with the production, properties and application of a new kind of ceramic. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-boundaries-traditional-ceramic-techniques-merging.html Materials Science Fri, 25 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news649083124 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to three scientists who have help unravel some of the enduring secrets of proteins, the building blocks of life. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-proteins-nobel-chemistry.html Other Wed, 09 Oct 2024 13:50:01 EDT news647699835 Three scientists who discovered powerful techniques to decode and even design novel proteins—the building blocks of life—were awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday. Their work used advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and holds the potential to transform how new drugs and other materials are made. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-nobel-prize-chemistry-awarded-proteins.html Other Wed, 09 Oct 2024 06:11:33 EDT news647673082 If you've visited a trendy cafe in the past few years, you might have noticed "golden" turmeric milk on the menu. Though recently advertised as a caffeine-free, healthy coffee alternative, the drink is a fancified version of haldi doodh—a traditional Indian beverage often used as an at-home cold remedy. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-instant-version-trendy-golden-turmeric.html Biochemistry Sun, 18 Aug 2024 05:00:01 EDT news643018201 If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-evidence-stacks-poisonous-toxic-dyes.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 18 Aug 2024 05:00:01 EDT news643017314 Perfume making dates back at least 3,000 years—to the time of Tapputi-belat-ekalle, who is considered the first chemist in history. What we know about her comes from inscriptions on fragments of clay tablets dating back to the Middle Assyrian period (1400–1000BC). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-chemist-history-female-perfumer-science.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 24 Jun 2024 11:41:03 EDT news638448061 A professor at the University of Warwick is exploring the chemistry of the galaxy far, far away this Star Wars Day, May the 4th. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-chemist-explores-real-world-science.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 03 May 2024 11:25:18 EDT news633954316 Many plant-based meats have seemingly done the impossible by recreating animal products ranging from beef to seafood. But beyond just the taste and texture, how do these products compare to the real thing in nutritional value? A small-scale study published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows that while some "plant steaks" and "plant cold cuts" might be comparable to meats on some fronts, their amino acid content and protein digestibility fall short. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-based-steaks-cold-lacking-protein.html Biochemistry Fri, 19 Apr 2024 13:37:08 EDT news632752625 Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Los Alamos National Laboratory have used machine learning to create a model that can simulate reactive processes in a diverse set of organic materials and conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-machine-method-chemical-reactions.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 07 Mar 2024 05:00:01 EST news628965310 Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots—tiny particles just a few nanometers in diameter that can release very bright colored light and whose applications in everyday life include electronics and medical imaging. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-nobel-prize-chemistry-tiny.html Materials Science Wed, 04 Oct 2023 06:03:11 EDT news615618179 In the refrigerated grocery store aisle, meat alternatives greatly outnumber plant-based seafoods. But more mock seafood options are needed because of unsustainable fishing and aquaculture practices, which can deplete the supply and harm the environment. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-3d-printed-vegan-seafood.html Materials Science Sun, 13 Aug 2023 05:00:01 EDT news610953003 Danish painters in the 19th century may have turned to an unusual source for some of their supplies: breweries. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-danish-masters-prepped-canvases-leftovers.html Other Wed, 24 May 2023 17:07:53 EDT news604166868 In chemistry, we have He, Fe and Ca—but what about do, re and mi? Hauntingly beautiful melodies aren't the first things that come to mind when looking at the periodic table of the elements. However, using a technique called data sonification, a recent college graduate has converted the visible light given off by the elements into audio, creating unique, complex sounds for each one. Today, the researcher reports the first step toward an interactive, musical periodic table. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-elements.html Materials Science Sun, 26 Mar 2023 08:12:19 EDT news599037118 Black women and others with curly or kinky hair encounter a vast and confusing array of haircare options. Advice on the best products to use for a certain type of hair is often contradictory, and the results can be highly variable. Now, scientists are bringing order to this chaos by identifying properties such as the number of curls or coils in a given length of hair that could eventually help users pick the perfect product and achieve consistent results. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-ways-kinks-easier-natural-hair.html Materials Science Sun, 26 Mar 2023 08:08:14 EDT news599036883 It sounds like a party trick: Add water to the clear, licorice-flavored ouzo liquor, and watch it turn cloudy. This "ouzo effect" is an example of an easy way to make highly stable emulsions—or mixtures of liquids that don't like being together, like vinaigrettes—but nobody has yet fully understood how it works. Now, researchers report in ACS Central Science that the secret may lie in the unique structure of the emulsion's droplets. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-diluting-ouzo-liquor-emulsions.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 08 Mar 2023 09:40:02 EST news597490801 A Rutgers scientist has developed a formulation of low-fat chocolate that can be printed on a 3D printer in pretty much any shape a person can conceive, including a heart. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-healthy-valentine-day-chocolates.html Other Tue, 14 Feb 2023 13:15:39 EST news595602933 Three scientists were jointly awarded this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a way of "snapping molecules together" that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs that can target diseases such as cancer more precisely. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-nobel-prize-chemists-molecules-click.html Materials Science Wed, 05 Oct 2022 06:54:56 EDT news584171690 No movie experience is complete without popcorn, whether plain, buttered, or coated with sweet or savory toppings. Microwaves and counter-top air poppers are common appliances for making this tasty snack at home, but now, a study in ACS Food Science & Technology reports that infrared cooking is yet another way people can make the treat. Using a pilot infrared popping system, the researchers were able to produce a version of the snack that taste-testers liked. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-large-tasty-popcorn-kernels-infrared.html Other Tue, 06 Sep 2022 09:55:03 EDT news581676891 Beetle larvae, such as mealworms, are often considered to be creepy, crawly nuisances. But these insects are edible and could be a healthful alternative to traditional meat protein sources. Today, researchers report that they've cooked up mealworms with sugar, creating a "meat-like" flavoring. It could someday be used in convenience foods as a tasty source of extra protein. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-cooking-mealworms-tasty-healthful-meat-like.html Other Wed, 24 Aug 2022 05:00:02 EDT news580535428 Databases containing huge amounts of experimental data are available to researchers across a wide variety of chemical disciplines. However, a team of researchers have discovered that the available data is unsuccessful in predicting the yields of new syntheses using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Their study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition suggests that this is in large part down to the tendency of scientists not to report failed experiments. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-clearer-negative-experimental-results-reaction.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 09 Jun 2022 12:18:02 EDT news573995879 Scientists led by EPFL have developed a new method to measure chemical kinetics by imaging progress of a reaction at a liquid-liquid interface embedded in a laminar-flow liquid microjet. This method is ideal for studies of dynamics on the sub-millisecond timescale, which is very difficult to do with current applications. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-imaging-chemical-kinetics-liquid-liquid-interfaces.html Other Wed, 04 May 2022 10:04:47 EDT news570877484