Researchers have looked at the biosynthetic pathways in plants to help them synthesise the potential anti-addiction agents ibogaine and voacangine.
Capturing Water Out of the Air
These researchers have developed a technology to pull water out of air in dry climates.
Peering inside the cell
Everyday your cells are working overtime to keep you functioning. Learn how these researchers developed a new technique to peer through the crowded cell and study one individual protein.
Development of Sensors for Amino Acids
Researchers develop an easy to use method to identify the chirality of the amino acids, amines and alcohols.
Detergents are for more than washing dishes
Studying membrane-bound proteins requires stabilizing their structure outside of the membrane – otherwise they fall apart. But our analytical techniques have not risen to the challenge. Sadaf et al. pushes us forward by developing novel detergents for stabilizing membrane proteins.
Discovering new microbial biosynthetic logic
Ting and coworkers discover a microbial compound made by recycling a peptide.
Edible microorganism: the food of the future?
A group from the University of Tübingen obtained single-cell proteins with circular resources and renewable energy.
A fifty-year-old question about molecular structure answered with a picture
What does a ring of 18 carbon atoms look like? An atomic scale image settles the debate.
What simple molecules might have reacted to create life?
Researchers have discovered that two molecules, HCN and H2O, could have reacted to create the building blocks for life.
What’s blacker than black?
There’s a new record holder for the world’s blackest material. Learn about how randomly oriented carbon nanotubes can be used to create a coating darker than anything else ever made!
“Uncorking” a Mini Machine
Scientists discover a novel mechanism for taking apart tiny machines
Enzymes Get Closer to Traditional Organic Chemistry – The Case of Reductive Amination
A clever, two-part biocatalytic strategy grants access to products of reductive amination that can be troublesome to obtain through more traditional synthetic methods.
The Smell of Success
Although skunks are nocturnal animals that prefer their own company, they won’t hesitate to spray potential predators, people or pets with fluid from their anal glands. For many years, these anal secretions have fascinated natural products chemists but repelled most of the rest of us. Learn about a new way to “de-skunk” from researchers at the University of Oklahoma.
More than just our genetic code: how chemical modifications affect gene expression
DNA is the instruction manual for how to produce an organism, one gene at a time. But our heart cells, liver cells, and brain cells are different, despite having the same DNA, thanks in part to the “epigenetic” modifications that control which genes are expressed.
Are Nanoparticles Getting Into Your Cells?
Scientists want to use nanoparticles to deliver drugs straight to where they’re needed in your body – but can the nanoparticles enter the right cells? A new model describes how to design nanoparticles that get to where they’re needed.
“Invisible Ink” Nanoparticle Fingerprint Paper
A more secure way to collect biometric data: this nanoparticle-based paper uses your sweat as an “invisible ink” for fingerprints!
Draw your own circuits with liquid metal
Electrical circuits can be drawn, erased, and redrawn with ease on this new material that uses liquid metal particles suspended in a polymer network. Check out how it’s made and its potential uses in flexible electronics!
Development of new tools for single RNA imaging
Detection of movement of single RNA within live cell was achieved using Quantum Dot Nanobeacons.
Now slide real smooth: Using peptide coatings to prevent biofilm formation
When it comes to milk, preventing bacterial contamination on dairy equipment is key. Researchers in Israel developed a biological coating to prevent biofilm formation and keep their moo-juice fresh and clean.
Delicious diagnosis – real-time glucose analysis straight from your gut
Scientists from UCSD and Compultense University developed non-invasive tools to measure gastrointestinal distress, monitoring chemical markers in real-time.
A View With A Future: Perovskites in Solar Windows
Sure, solar panels can be installed on your roof, but that might not provide enough power – and no one wants to cover their garden with solar panels. That’s why researchers are studying new perovskite/organic materials for solar windows.
Using Aerogel to Harness the Greenhouse Effect for Good
Switching to solar energy is one of the ways we can fight against climate change. Let’s learn how something as harmful as the greenhouse effect can be used to create better solar devices!
A new photovoltaic panel that produces clean water
A research team in Saudi Arabia developed solar panels that clean the sea water whilst producing electricity.
Enabling Solar Panel Windows
Solar panel windows could revolutionize urban architecture by turning buildings into energy producing structures. Read about how scientists are trying to enable solar windows by exploring new chemistry.
A more thorough way to study ammonia production
How can researchers eliminate false positives from their research on energy efficient production of ammonia?