Chemistry

  1. Climate

    Smoke from Australia’s intense fires in 2019 and 2020 damaged the ozone layer

    Massive fires like those that raged in Australia in 2019–2020 can eat away at Earth’s protective ozone layer, researchers find.

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  2. Chemistry

    Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost

    Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, but her own perspective on her research is missing from the historical record.

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  3. Chemistry

    One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death

    The bones of more than 100 cadavers are shedding light on a more precise and reliable way to determine when someone died.

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  4. Chemistry

    A disinfectant made from sawdust mows down deadly microbes

    Antimicrobial molecules found in wood waste could be used to make more sustainable, greener disinfectants.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Oxygen-rich exoplanets may be geologically active

    Experiments show that rocks exposed to higher concentrations of oxygen have a lower melting temperature than rocks exposed to lower amounts.

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  6. Climate

    Wildfire smoke may ramp up toxic ozone production in cities

    A new study reveals how wildfire smoke produces toxic ozone and how urban air pollution could exacerbate the problem.

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  7. Chemistry

    Here’s the chemistry behind marijuana’s skunky scent

    Newly ID’d sulfur compounds in cannabis flowers give the plant its telltale odor. One, prenylthiol, is what also gives “skunked beer” its funky flavor.

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  8. Chemistry

    This eco-friendly glitter gets its color from plants, not plastic

    Using cellulose extracted from wood pulp, researchers have created a greener alternative to traditional glitter.

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  9. Materials Science

    Lithium-ion batteries made with recycled materials can outlast newer counterparts

    Batteries with recycled cathodes outperformed batteries with new cathodes, lasting for thousands more charging cycles before their capacity waned.

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  10. Chemistry

    An easier, greener way to build molecules wins the chemistry Nobel Prize

    Chemists Benjamin List and David MacMillan have sparked a whole new field that’s aided drug discovery and made chemistry more environmentally friendly.

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  11. Chemistry

    Radiometric dating puts pieces of the past in context. Here’s how

    Carbon dating and other techniques answer essential questions about human history, our planet and the solar system.

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  12. Chemistry

    Ink analysis reveals Marie Antoinette’s letters’ hidden words and who censored them

    Chemical analyses of letters written by Marie Antoinette solve a French Revolution mystery: Who censored the queen?

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