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Chemistry News - February 2010 Archives
 | Higher yields of better-performing biodiesel could be produced using a new method developed by chemists at UC Davis. ...> Full Article |
Certain types of molecules form patterns when deposited onto substrates. Photovoltaic and sensor devices from organic compounds depend on this phenomenon of self-organization. Physicists of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have now developed a model that predicts these patterns and thus allows optimization of the molecular synthesis in the future.
...> Full Article
 | Scientists may have just made the breakthrough of a lifetime, turning discarded fruit peels and other throwaways into cheap, clean fuel to power the world's vehicles. ...> Full Article |
Food packaging and other disposable plastic items could soon be composted at home along with organic waste thanks to a new sugar-based polymer.
The degradable polymer is made from sugars known as lignocellulosic biomass, which come from non-food crops such as fast-growing trees and grasses, or renewable biomass from agricultural or food waste.
...> Full Article
A collaboration between researchers at Northwestern University's Center for Catalysis and scientists at Oxford University has produced a new approach for understanding surfaces, particularly metal oxide surfaces, widely used in industry as supports for catalysts. Knowledge of how atoms are arranged on a material's surface is critical to understanding a material's overall properties. In their approach, the research team used a combination of advanced experimental tools coupled with theoretical calculations.
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 | Two of the Florida State University's most accomplished scientists recently joined forces on a collaborative research project that has yielded groundbreaking results involving an unusual family of crystalline minerals. Their findings could lay the groundwork for future researchers seeking to develop a new generation of computer chips and other information-storage devices that can hold vast amounts of data and be strongly encrypted for security purposes. ...> Full Article |
 | UCLA chemists report creating a synthetic "gene," which could capture heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions. The research is published in the Feb. 12, 2010, issue of the journal Science. Carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, rising sea levels and increased acidity of oceans. ...> Full Article |
Finding a biological mechanism much like an online social network, scientists have identified the bacterial protein VpsT as the master regulator in Vibrio, the cause of cholera and other enteric diseases. This discovery, now published by Cornell and UC-Santa Cruz researchers in the journal Science, provides a major tool to combat enteric disease.
...> Full Article
A team of chemists from the University of New Hampshire has synthesized the first-ever stable derivative of nonacene, creating a compound that holds significant promise in the manufacture of flexible organic electronics such as large displays, solar cells and radio frequency identification tags. The team, led by professor of organic chemistry and materials science Glen Miller and including two UNH undergraduates, published their findings in January 2010 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
...> Full Article
 | Besides the 92 elements that occur naturally, scientists were able to create 20 additional chemical elements. These new elements were produced artificially and are all very short-lived: they decay in a matter of a split second. However, scientists predict the existence of even heavier elements with an extreme longevity. Scientists at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt have developed and applied a measuring apparatus that might allow them to discover such long-lived elements, reports the renowned scientific journal Nature. ...> Full Article |
 | Parts of a car's bodywork could one day double up as its battery, according to the scientists behind a new €3.4 ($4.6) million project announced today. ...> Full Article |
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University make new material to clean up oil spills in factories or on the ocean, and conserve the oil.
...> Full Article
Could humans one day walk on walls, like Spider-Man? A palm-sized device invented at Cornell that uses water surface tension as an adhesive bond just might make it possible.
...> Full Article
 | Considerable progresses made in controlling quantum gases open up a new avenue to study chemical processes. Rudolf Grimm's research team has now succeeded in directly observing chemical exchange processes in an ultra-cold sample of cesium atoms and Feshbach molecules. They report on their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters. ...> Full Article |
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Fish can recognize a face based on UV pattern alone
Ancient DNA from rare fossil reveals that polar bears evolved recently and adapted quickly
'Anaconda' meets 'Jurassic Park': Study shows ancient snakes ate dinosaur babies
Scientists locate apparent hydrothermal vents off Antarctica
Mars Express heading for closest flyby of Phobos
Artificial bee silk a big step closer to reality
Predicting the fate of stem cells
Artificial foot recycles energy for easier walking
New fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Juggling enhances connections in the brain
Tracking down the human 'odorprint'
Scientists discover quantum fingerprints of chaos
Researchers help identify cows that gain more while eating less
Scientists transform polyethylene into a heat-conducting material
Chemicals that eased one environmental problem may worsen another
Helping hydrogen: Student inventor tackles challenge of hydrogen storage
More, better biodiesel
Orange peels, newspapers may lead to cheaper, cleaner ethanol fuel
Researchers envision high-tech applications for 'multiferroic' crystals
Chemists create synthetic 'gene-like' crystals for carbon dioxide capture