Researchers discover new formation pathways for oxygenated hydrocarbons in combustion.
Category: Research Bites
Mood Lighting: Colorful Coatings for Smart Windows
Feeling blue? The chemistry of new “smart windows” could help – with a coating that adjusts to the outside temperature and a color filter that you can switch at will, they could be the perfect mood lighting for your energy-efficient home.
What are the materials that make up Saturn’s moon, Titan? – Helen Maynard-Casely
Thanks to observations from both spacecraft & telescopes on Earth, we know much about how chemicals are distributed throughout the cosmos. But they don’t always tell us what the materials are. Today, ANSTO scientist Helen Maynard-Casely explores the materials that might make up Saturn’s moon, Titan! Welcome Helen!
Algal Blooms Impact Air Quality in Great Lake Regions
Algal blooms aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing plant in a lake region, but did you know their emissions can impact air quality and human health?
Weak Magnetic Fields Affect DNA Repair: A Migratory Bird’s Inner Compass?
Birds and other migratory animals use the Earth’s weak magnetic field to navigate, but what do they use as a compass? While previous research has uncovered some promising candidates, not until now have experiments identified a compass sensitive to fields as weak as Earth’s – DNA repair by photolyase.
The shape of supercooled water
Water is a really special liquid: its characteristics allow the existence of life as it is. But It can still amaze us: a new form of liquid water has just been discovered at -80 °C.
Seeing the unseen – the first aromatic molecule identified in space!
Outer space has lots of radiation. But there’s one kind, a faint infrared glow, that has appeared as a mystery to many scientists.
By following this mysterious light, scientists have now made a great discovery – seeing an aromatic molecule for the first time in the galaxies!
Evolving Proteins to Make Tiny Carbon Rings
Learn how researchers at Caltech artificially evolved proteins to synthesize some of the most challenging tiny molecules in organic chemistry!
Sniffing Sensors to Save Entrapped Humans
Human odors and skin oils can be detected by hand-held sensors in order to aid in urban search and rescue efforts.
Using lasers to make graphene on the surface of food!
Graphene is a wonder-material that is nearly indestructible, conducts electricity, and flexible enough to be worn. Let’s learn how to make it with lasers on the surface of carbon-based materials!
Why Scientists Are Putting Barcodes on Worms
Find out what “photochemical barcodes” are and how they might help us understand complex biological processes.
Ten Hundred Word Challenge: Charlie Makes Droplets Like Your Cells
With only the 1,000 most commonly used words in his arsenal, Charlie explains his research making water droplets that simulate a cell-like environment.
Why are swaths of trees dying out across Western North America?
Mountain Pine beetles in western North American forests have killed many trees and these researchers have uncovered a new chemical signature of their spreading impact.
Hope in sight: A new drug treatment system to combat hereditary retinal degeneration
Hereditary retinal degeneration destroys rod and cone cells in the eye, slowly blinding those who suffer from this disorder. Researchers have developed of one of the first therapeutic systems designed to combat the devastating effects of retinal degeneration — read today’s Chembite to learn more!
Double Perovskite Nanocrystals: New Synthesis and Structures for Solar Energy
Lead based perovskite is an exciting new material for solar energy, but it’s based on lead. These researchers found a way around that, making new double perovskite materials based on silver and bismuth. This new synthesis has exciting future in making perovskite solar panels into a environmentally friendly technology.
Ten Hundred Word Challenge: Elizabeth Measures Pesticides in Food
The fearless leader of Chembites, Elizabeth Lam, explains her research on quantifying pesticides in food. The catch: she can only use the 1,000 most common words in the English language!
Engineered Fungus is a New Source for Polymer Building Blocks
They gave us beer, bread, and cheese – now microorganisms make the building blocks of new polymers.
Making computers from molecules – Molecular Turing Machines
In this article, explore the tiny molecules that could be used for computational work in future of smartphones! Inspired by your own body, machines made from molecules could be the next generation of computers!
Fluorogenic RNA Molecules Expand the Imaging Toolbox
Nucleic acids are incredibly versatile molecules that can perform functions way beyond their canonical roles in biology. Here, RNA sequences are “evolved” to bind and enhance the fluorescence of a small-molecule dye, welcoming the idea of RNA for robust fluorescence imaging!
Halogen bonding with astatine: insights into a mysterious element.
How much do you look beyond the top few rows of elements in the periodic table? Prepare to do just that in today’s chembite as we explore some astatine chemistry!
Understanding the Molecular Movements of Water
Learn about the molecular dynamics occurring in bulk liquid water that allows it to be such a powerful material.
Freedom from Wires: Solar-Charging Perovskite Batteries
Ever had your phone die out of nowhere? Wonder how you’re going to charge your Tesla on your next road trip? Researchers from the University of Cambridge have got your back – they’ve developed a single material that doubles as a battery and a solar cell.
Turn on the lights and get your 3D printouts!
Printing is cool, but 3D printing is cooler! Instead of words on a page, you can print spoons and forks and even houses! And today, you’ll see the coolest 3D printing – printing chains of molecules, simply with light!
Targeting Cancer Cells with Different Drugs…in the Same Pill!
Tailoring treatment for a specific patient is the future of medicine. Let’s learn about making tiny pills that are “smart” enough to know where to dissolve in the body!
Flavins photoactivation of prodrugs: let’s shine a light
How can flavin and flavoprotein help with cancer therapy? A very nice example of biorthogonal chemistry and its potential.