Chemistry
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Chemistry
HArF! Argon’s not so noble after all
Researchers have for the first time coerced argon into forming a stable and neutral compound with other elements.
- Chemistry
Ribosomes Reveal Their RNA Secrets
The first atomic-resolution map of a ribosome, a cell's protein factory, suggests that RNA catalyzes the formation of proteins.
- Chemistry
Crystal Reveals Unexpected Beginnings
For the first time, researchers have directly observed a protein begin to crystallize, and they've found it has a peculiar shape.
- Chemistry
Lakes reveal low phosphate concentrations
Researchers using a new technique have found that previous measurements of phosphate, an important nutrient in lake ecosystems, have grossly overestimated its concentration.
- Chemistry
Protein’s structure lights the way
Forty years after the discovery of aequorin in a jellyfish, the structure of this calcium-tracking, glowing protein is resolved.
- Chemistry
Clearing the air on dirty art
Air-pollution damage to artworks may accumulate more stealthily than conservationists thought, suggesting that art exhibitors need to step up protection against such damage.
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- Chemistry
Now, nylon comes in killer colors
Chemists are improving antibacterial fabrics by treating them with compounds that prolong their killing power and add color.
- Chemistry
The power of caffeine and pale tea
The relatively rare brew known as white tea offers more caffeine than green tea—and perhaps more anticancer activity.
- Chemistry
Unsung benefits of darker, tasty oils
Processing to erase the distinctive flavors and colors in cooking oils also removes or deactivates compounds that can defuse biologically damaging chemical reactions in the body.
- Chemistry
Nutty and fungi-ble taxol sources
The active ingredient in the anticancer drug taxol has turned up in hazelnuts and fungi.
- Chemistry
Coming up roses in scent research
Aroma chemists have discovered a carotenoid-processing enzyme that makes the chemicals that give rose oil its smell.
