Chemistry
A new method could spot fentanyl variants no one has cataloged yet
Researchers used machine learning to help predict chemical signatures for over 1 billion possible fentanyls, including variants never seen before.
Chemistry
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Chemistry
- Physics
Water has a newfound ‘critical point’ that may help explain its quirks
At cold temperatures, water has two different liquid phases, which become one at the critical point. The discovery could help explain water’s quirks.
- Chemistry
Long nails don’t work on touchscreens. An experimental polish could help
Proton movement in the nail polish probably activates the touchscreen, but the formula isn’t ready to hit shelves yet.
- Space
One possible recipe for life on Titan is a bust
An experiment mimicking conditions on the Saturn moon suggests that cell-like bubbles don’t form in methane lakes, puncturing hopes for alien life.
- Chemistry
This molecule puts a new twist on the Möbius strip
A molecule made of carbon and chlorine is half as twisty as the paper loops common in math classes.
- Chemistry
Machine learning streamlines the complexities of making better proteins
The framework predicts how proteins will function with several interacting mutations and finds combinations that work well together.
- Health & Medicine
What the new nutrition guidelines get wrong about fat
New U.S. dietary guidelines promote eating full-fat foods and meats. But experts say nuts and seed oils are better sources of the two crucial fats we need.
- Animals
These sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to protect their colony
When infected by a fungal disease, ant pupae actively emit a chemical cue that prompts workers to get rid of them for the good of the colony.
- Health & Medicine
How a bacterial toxin linked to colon cancer messes with DNA
A closeup look at colibactin’s structure reveals chemical motifs that guide its mutation-wreaking “warheads” to specific stretches of DNA.
- Physics
Here’s how Rudolph’s light-up nose might be possible
Simple chemistry could give the reindeer his famously bright snout. But physics would make it look different colors from the ground.
