A new set of molecular building blocks aims to make complex chemistry as simple and accessible as a toy construction kit.
Materials Science
Feb 8, 2022
1
102
Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for finding an ingenious and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules—an approach now used to make a variety of compounds, including medicines and pesticides.
Other
Oct 6, 2021
0
1825
Biodegradable plastics have been advertised as one solution to the plastic pollution problem bedeviling the world, but today's "compostable" plastic bags, utensils and cup lids don't break down during typical composting and ...
Polymers
Apr 21, 2021
4
1345
In a new study of water dynamics, a team of MIT chemists led by Professor Mei Hong, in collaboration with Associate Professor Adam Willard, has discovered that water in an ion channel is anisotropic, or partially aligned. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 19, 2021
0
186
It is currently challenging to directly observe the formation of intracellular nanostructures in the lab. In a new report, Miaomiao Zhang and a research team in chemistry, life sciences, medical engineering and science and ...
Transcription factor proteins are the light switches of the human genome. By binding to DNA, they help turn genes 'on' or 'off' and start the important process of copying DNA into an RNA template that acts as a blueprint ...
Biotechnology
Oct 21, 2020
1
86
University of Maryland scientists have developed a method to determine the structures of large RNA molecules at high resolution. The method overcomes a challenge that has limited 3-D analysis and imaging of RNA to only small ...
Biochemistry
Oct 7, 2020
1
137
The painful toxins wielded by a giant Australian stinging tree are surprisingly similar to the venom found in spiders and cone snails, University of Queensland researchers have found.
Plants & Animals
Sep 16, 2020
1
578
A scientist might want to do cartwheels upon making a discovery, but this time the discovery itself relies on cartwheels.
Optics & Photonics
Jun 29, 2020
1
770
Organic chemists aim to separate alkenes such as ethylene and propene from alkynes before converting them into polymers. The technique has several drawbacks including hydrogenation of alkynes to produce unwanted alkanes, ...
