New method to synthesize menthol

Menthol is a substance that exists naturally in various mint plants. For hundreds of years, humans have recognized it as useful, causing an immense demand for menthol worldwide. Moreover, extraction from the plants itself ...

RIM seeks probe into report on BlackBerry returns

The maker of the BlackBerry said Friday that it wants U.S. and Canadian regulators to investigate a "false and misleading" report by a financial analyst that claims the company's new smartphone is being returned in unusually ...

Technique pulls interstellar magnetic fields within easy reach

A new, more accessible and much cheaper approach to surveying the topology and strength of interstellar magnetic fields—which weave through space in our galaxy and beyond, representing one of the most potent forces in nature—has ...

New synthesis method uses light reaction on a water surface

By forming chemical bonds between atoms, complex molecules such as those needed for medicines, crop protection products, or high-performance materials are prepared using synthetic chemistry. Such synthesis reactions typically ...

From crystals to glasses: a new unified theory for heat transport

Theoretical physicists from SISSA and the University of California at Davis have developed a new approach to heat transport in materials, which finally allows crystals, polycrystalline solids, alloys and glasses to be treated ...

How to improve climate modeling and prediction

We are changing the Earth system at a unprecedented speed without knowing the consequences in detail. Increasingly detailed, physics-based models are improving steadily, but an in-depth understanding of persisting uncertainties ...

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