Chemistry

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Chemistry

    Why olive oil’s quality is in the cough

    An anti-inflammatory compound found in the best presses tickles taste sensors in the throat, a study finds.

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  2. Chemistry

    Building big molecules bottom-up

    Using templates, chemists make ring structures on the scale of biological machinery.

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  3. Humans

    Calendar marks chemistry milestones

    January 1, 2011, ushers in the International Year of Chemistry. The American Chemical Society has compiled on online calendar that points to landmark events and trivia to celebrate.

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  4. Humans

    Periodic table gets some flex

    IUPAC committee replaces fuzzy atomic weights with more accurate ranges

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  5. Chemistry

    Hornet pigment drives solar cell in lab

    Though far from photosynthetic, an insect's light-harvesting apparatus intrigues scientists.

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  6. Chemistry

    Twisted rules of chemistry explained

    A theorist uses quantum mechanics to explain why Möbius molecules have different numbers of electrons than standard rings.

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  7. Chemistry

    Clever way to break the nitrogen-nitrogen bond

    New chemical reaction cleaves dinitrogen molecule and brings carbon and nitrogen together.

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  8. Chemistry

    Locks to learn

    A new way to probe interactions between pairs of hairs could offer insights into fly-aways and other tonsorial woes.

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  9. Science & Society

    E.T.? No. Arsenic? Yes. Maybe. Hmmm.

    NASA's bacterium news sparks criticism.

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  10. Tech

    Heavier crudes, heavier footprints

    BLOG: Refining heavy oils and tar sands could greatly exaggerate the greenhouse gases associated with fossil-fuel use, a new study finds.

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  11. Chemistry

    Bacterium grows with arsenic

    A microbe appears to substitute a normally toxic element for a basic ingredient of life, raising intriguing questions about the limits of biochemistry.

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  12. Chemistry

    Snot has the power to alter scents

    Enzymes in mice's nasal mucus can alter certain odors before the nose can detect them, a new study finds.

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