Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a process to transform naturally occurring, highly stable carbon dioxide into recyclable, high-performance materials that could replace today's plastics in many situations. Their catalytic process, described in the journal Nature, is another step toward a circular economy that reduces plastic waste and supports environmental sustainability.
For decades, scientists have largely relied on painstaking trial and error to coax proteins into crystalline forms. Crystallization enables scientists to determine the molecular structures of proteins, which can provide a blueprint for designing drugs, engineering enzymes and understanding disease.
Plants need nitrogen fertilizers, which are usually ammonia-based. Ammonia is therefore one of the most important chemical products. However, its production is currently extremely energy-intensive. An international team from TU Wien and Soochow University in China has developed a novel catalyst that can convert nitrate from wastewater into ammonia much more efficiently than before—powered by sunlight and about 1.5 volts.
The chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides (ONs) is central to modern molecular biology, diagnostics and nucleic acid therapeutics. While demand for high-quality ONs is increasing, the conventional synthetic method has long-standing efficiency challenges. Widely adopted P(III)-phosphoramidite-based ON synthesis requires an oxidation step after every nucleotide coupling cycle and uses moisture-sensitive building blocks, adding complexity to the workflow and slowing the process.
Over the past few decades, scientists have become increasingly interested in developing materials that do not simply withstand mechanical forces but instead respond to them in useful, detectable ways. For example, it is now possible to engineer materials that signal when they are under stress through changes in color or brightness. This growing domain, sometimes called mechanochromic or mechanoresponsive materials science, has found applications in structural sensors and advanced optical technology.
The pulp and paper industry, which manufactures everything from tissue paper to cardboard, also generates a significant yet often overlooked byproduct—a complex polymer called lignin. Around 100 million tons of lignin are produced each year. Despite being the largest natural source of aromatic carbon on the planet, most of it is burned for energy. This is due to its complex structure, which is notoriously difficult to process. Researchers are exploring ways to leverage industrial lignin by developing methods to convert it into useful bio-based chemicals.
The Hiroshima blast on Aug. 6, 1945, was one of the most devastating events in human history. Like all nuclear detonations, it created fleeting moments of extreme heat, pressure, mixing and cooling. These conditions can briefly produce materials that could never form under normal circumstances.
Pharmaceutical drugs often rely on chemical compounds found in the body. Take phosphate, a common compound cells use as a chemical switch. In a process called phosphorylation, cells can add a phosphate to a molecule and turn its function on. When the function is no longer needed, cells can remove the phosphate through dephosphorylation, turning the molecule back off.
Algae are increasingly being explored as sustainable "living factories" that can convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into renewable fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other valuable products.
Graphite, the carbon core of a humble No. 2 pencil, is also an essential component in technologies such as batteries, smartphones, laptops and industrial power equipment. Today, nearly all of this critical mineral must be mined and processed and, in the United States, imported.
A University of California San Diego research team has found a better way to understand and stabilize hydroxyapatite, the calcium phosphate mineral that makes up much of our teeth and bones. By adding tiny amounts of europium, a rare-earth element that mimics calcium, the team discovered a way to make the material potentially more useful for medical imaging.
Alcohols are among the most abundant building blocks in chemistry. Fluorinated compounds, meanwhile, are essential for many modern medicines, crop protection products and advanced materials. Converting one into the other, however, has traditionally relied on toxic, thermally unstable reagents such as DAST (diethylaminosulfur trifluoride) that make large-scale manufacturing operationally demanding.
A new Concordia study has demonstrated a greener way to produce an important class of catalytic materials with promising potential for cleaner energy technologies that rely more on acoustic energy than water and chemicals. The work is published in the journal Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis.
Adorning the walls of San Ildefonso College in Mexico City is artist Diego Rivera's masterpiece, rendered in fresco and gold leaf, The Creation, or La Creacioń. It depicts a man standing with his arms outstretched beneath a deep blue celestial disk studded with stars and constellations, while figures seated on clouds watch from either side. The work catalyzed the revival of the encaustic painting technique in the 1920s.
Advances in medical technology have improved health in part by bringing key aspects of care, once difficult to access, into the home. Tracking symptoms and even screening for certain types of illness outside of a laboratory or clinical setting puts more control into the hands of patients.
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