All Stories by Aimee Cunningham
- Chemistry
Old drug, new use
By screening a library of more than 2,000 existing drugs, researchers have identified an antihistamine that shows activity against malaria.
- Tech
Farm-Fuel Feedback: Soybeans have advantages over corn
A new analysis of two biofuels finds that while both provide more energy than they consume, soybean biodiesel gives more bang for the buck than ethanol made from corn.
- Tech
Smells Like the Real Thing
Chemical sensors that take cues from the mammalian pattern-based approach to identifying odors and flavors create colorful readouts that even the eyes can distinguish.
- Chemistry
Fungus foils polymer that defeats recycling
A common tree-rotting fungus is the first to break down an otherwise impervious resin found in plywood and fiberboard.
- Chemistry
Sweet Synthesis: Fructose product could replace chemicals from oil
A new study describes the efficient use of fructose toward making a renewable building block for many useful chemicals.
- Materials Science
Seeing the light
Researchers have developed a smart petri dish that signals cell death with intense light.
- Earth
Toxic Leftovers: Microbes convert flame retardant
Bacteria can break down a common flame retardant into more-toxic forms.
- Chemistry
Carbon Goes Glam: Treated carbon dots fluoresce
Chemists have fashioned tiny dots of carbon that glow in response to light.
- Chemistry
Gritty Clues
Archaeologists are tying chemical signatures found in the soil to past human activity.
- Ecosystems
Top-Down Lowdown: Predators shape coastal ecosystem
The health of southern California kelp forests may depend more on the ecosystem's predator population than the forest's access to nutrients.
- Chemistry
Leaking lead
A disinfectant used by some U.S. water utilities dissolves lead in laboratory experiments.
- Tech
Directing tubular traffic
Researchers have shown that they can steer individual protein tubes along tiny channels of a glass chip.
