Chemistry
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
Twisted rules of chemistry explained
A theorist uses quantum mechanics to explain why Möbius molecules have different numbers of electrons than standard rings.
- Chemistry
Clever way to break the nitrogen-nitrogen bond
New chemical reaction cleaves dinitrogen molecule and brings carbon and nitrogen together.
- 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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- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Chemistry
The nitty-gritty of diamond polishing
Researchers figure out what happens at the atomic scale when jewelers polish the hardest substance known.
- Tech
Newfound water risk: Lead-leaching valves
Hidden elements in drinking-water lines can shed large amounts of lead, a toxic heavy metal. And it's quite legal, even if it does skirt the intent of federal regulations.
- Humans
Wine-trashing microbe identified
In finding the source of the off-tasting molecule MDMP, researchers hope to point the way to eliminating it.
- Tech
BPA: EPA hasn’t identified a safer alternative for thermal paper
Some researchers and public interest groups have been arguing that BPAfree thermal receipts paper is a preferable alternative, at least from a health perspective. But is it really? That’s what Environmental Protection Agency scientists want to know. And to date, they maintain, the jury’s still out.
- Humans
BPA induces sterility in roundworms
Bisphenol A does a real number on the genes responsible for successful reproduction in a 1-millimeter-long soil-dwelling roundworm. And that suggests BPA might pose similar risks to people because geneticists are finding that this tiny critter can be a remarkably useful “lab rat” — predicting impacts in mammals, including us.
