Agriculture
A grapevine bacteria may help douse wildfire-tainted wine’s ashy aftertaste
Grape plant bacteria might help mitigate smoke taint in wine by breaking down chemicals that evoke an ashy taste.
By Carly Kay
Chemistry
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Chemistry
- Space
Astronauts need oxygen. Magnets could help
Adding a magnet could simplify the process of producing oxygen in space, making a crewed mission to Mars more feasible.
- Chemistry
Gut microbes may flush ‘forever chemicals’ from the body
Experiments in mice show that some gut bacteria can absorb toxic PFAS chemicals, allowing animals to expel them through feces.
- Chemistry
Modified bacteria convert plastic waste into pain reliever
With genetic tweaks, E. coli turned 92 percent of broken-down plastic into acetaminophen, charting a path to upcycle plastic waste sustainably.
- Earth
Climate change is coming for your cheese
Adapting to climate change by replacing grass in cows' feed with corn affected the nutritional value and quality of cheese, French researchers found.
- Chemistry
Lotions and perfumes affect the air near our skin
The personal care products suppress reactions between skin oils and ozone. It's not clear how, or if, this chemistry change might impact human health.
- Chemistry
A chemical in plastics is tied to heart disease deaths
In 2018, over 350,000 excess heart disease deaths were linked to phthalates. More research is needed to fully understand the chemicals' effects.
- Chemistry
Scientists home in on alternatives to ‘forever chemicals’
Bulky molecules mimic some properties of PFAS without their long-lasting chemical bonds and could replace PFAS in some water-repelling applications.
- Space
Fermenting miso in orbit reveals how space can affect a food’s taste
A miso test on the International Space Station shows fermenting food is not only possible in space, it adds nuttier notes to the Japanese condiment.
- Chemistry
A new iron compound hints ‘primordial’ helium hides in Earth’s core
Earth’s core could contain helium from the early solar system. The noble gas tucks into gaps in iron crystals under high pressure and temperature.
