Chemistry

  1. Life

    1.6-billion-year-old steroid fossils hint at a lost world of microbial life

    Molecular fossils suggest the existence of a lost world of primitive eukaryotes that dominated aquatic ecosystems from at least 1.6 billion to 0.8 billion years ago.

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  2. Chemistry

    One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis

    A single particle of light is the spark that begins the process of turning light to chemical energy in photosynthetic bacteria, a new study confirms.

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  3. Chemistry

    19th century painters may have primed their canvases with beer-brewing leftovers

    Several paintings from the Danish Golden Age contain remnants of brewer’s yeast, barley and other grains commonly used to brew beer.

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  4. Life

    Microwaving an insecticide restores its mosquito-killing power

    Heated deltamethrin kills mosquitoes resistant to its usual form. Scientists are working to add the improved insecticide into bed nets.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Scientists may have found an antidote for death cap mushrooms

    A dye countered the effects of a mushroom toxin in human cells and mice. If the antidote does the same in people, it has potential to save lives.

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  6. Animals

    The Sonoran Desert toad can alter your mind — it’s not the only animal

    Their psychedelic and other potentially mind-bending compounds didn't evolve to give people a trip.

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  7. Life

    Ancient giant eruptions may have seeded nitrogen needed for life

    A new study bolsters the idea that on the young Earth volcanic lightning may have provided some materials that made it possible for life to emerge.

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  8. Genetics

    What was Rosalind Franklin’s true role in the discovery of DNA’s double helix?

    Two researchers say that Rosalind Franklin knowingly collaborated with James Watson and Francis Crick to discover the molecular structure of DNA.

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  9. Chemistry

    Here’s why some Renaissance artists egged their oil paintings

    Some Renaissance artists created eggs-quisite paintings by adding yolks to oil paints, which may have helped add texture and prevent yellowing.

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  10. Space

    What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars?

    NASA's Perseverance rover has turned up volcanic rocks, signs of flowing water and some of the materials necessary for life.

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  11. Physics

    Water is weird. A new type of ice could help us understand why

    A newfound type of amorphous ice with a density close to liquid water could help scientists make sense of water’s quirks.

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  12. Archaeology

    Chemical residue reveals ancient Egyptians’ mummy-making mixtures

    Chemical clues in embalming vessels reveal previously unknown ingredients used to prepare bodies for mummification and their far-flung origins.

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