Chemistry News - May 2009 Archives

'Disordered' amino acids may really be there to provide wiggle room for signaling protein (5/27/2009)

Fox Chase researchers first to determine structure in a class of self-regulating proteins ...> Full Article

Back to basics: Scientists discover a fundamental mechanism for cell organization (5/25/2009)

At the MBL in Woods Hole, scientists discovered that cells use a very simple phase transition -- similar to water vapor condensing into dew -- to assemble and localize subcellular structures that are involved in formation of the embryo. ...> Full Article

Researchers replace chrome coatings with safer metal alloys (5/24/2009)

Chrome has been used to add a protective coating and shiny luster to a wide range of metal products. But those features come at a heavy cost. The industrial process to create chrome is dangerous for workers and pollutes the environment. Now MIT researchers have developed a new nickel-tungsten alloy that is not only safer than chrome but also more durable. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover eco-friendly wood dissolution (5/23/2009)

Scientists at Queen's University have discovered a new eco-friendly way of dissolving wood that may help its transformation into popular products such as biofuels, textiles, clothes and paper. ...> Full Article

Plastic that grows on trees, part two (5/22/2009)

One-step process derives raw material for fuels and plastic from plants rather than crude oil ...> Full Article

Air-fueled battery could last up to 10 times longer (5/21/2009)

A new type of air-fueled battery could give up to ten times the energy storage of designs currently available.This step-change in capacity could pave the way for a new generation of electric cars, mobile phones and laptops. ...> Full Article

Revealing the long-awaited atomic structure of a well-known enzyme (5/21/2009)

Discovery is expected to lead to biochemistry textbook changes and new approaches to protein-engineered biofuels ...> Full Article

1 sponge-like material, 3 different applications (5/20/2009)

A new sponge-like material that is black, brittle and freeze-dried can pull off some pretty impressive feats. Designed by Northwestern University chemists, it can remove mercury from polluted water, easily separate hydrogen from other gases and is a more effective catalyst than the one currently used to pull sulfur out of crude oil. In fact, the material, a type of chalcogel, is twice as active as the conventional catalyst used in hydrodesulfurization. ...> Full Article

Synthetic catalyst mimics nature's 'hydrogen economy' (5/19/2009)

By creating a model of the active site found in a naturally occurring enzyme, chemists at the University of Illinois have described a catalyst that acts like nature's most pervasive hydrogen processor. ...> Full Article

Inexpensive plastic used in CDs could improve aircraft, computer electronics (5/18/2009)

The inexpensive plastic now used to manufacture CDs and DVDs may soon be put to use in improving the integrity of electronics in aircraft, computers and iPhones. Thanks to a pair of grants from the US Air Force, a team of UH researchers have demonstrated ultra-high electrical conductive properties in these plastics. The findings are chronicled in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Physics. ...> Full Article

Using high-precision laser tweezers to juggle cells (5/16/2009)

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a new method to study single cells while exposing them to controlled environmental changes. The unique method, where a set of laser tweezers move the cell around in a microscopic channel system, allows the researchers to study how single cells react to stress induced by a constantly changing environment. ...> Full Article

New fuel cell catalyst uses 2 metals (5/15/2009)

More efficient than commercial catalysts ...> Full Article

Chemist's discovery of new salt jumpstarts extended-life battery research for electric vehicles (5/14/2009)

A URI chemistry professor's discovery of a new salt has been received with enthusiasm by companies seeking to develop an advanced lithium ion battery for use in the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles. ...> Full Article

High-pressure compound could be key to hydrogen-powered vehicles (5/13/2009)

A hydrogen-rich compound discovered by Stanford researchers may help overcome one of the biggest hurdles to using hydrogen for fuel -- namely, how do you stuff enough hydrogen into a volume small enough to be practical for powering a car? The newly discovered material is a form of ammonia borane. Working at high pressure in an atmosphere artificially enriched with hydrogen, the scientists were able to ratchet up the hydrogen content by roughly 50 percent. ...> Full Article

Biomass as a source of raw materials (5/13/2009)

New process for obtaining alkanes from bio-oil ...> Full Article

Pliable proteins keep photosynthesis on the light path (5/12/2009)

A large, international collaboration between Arizona State University, the University of California San Diego and the University of British Columbia, has come up with a surprising twist to photosynthesis by swapping a key metal necessary for turning sunlight into chemical energy. ...> Full Article

Study suggests biomass converted into electricity could be more efficient than ethanol (5/9/2009)

A study lead by UC Merced's Elliott Campbell suggests that biomass used to generate electricity could be more efficient than ethanol. In the study, researchers found that biomass converted into electricity produced 81 percent more transportation miles and 108 percent more emissions offsets than ethanol. ...> Full Article

Battery-powered vehicles to be revolutionized (5/8/2009)

Thousands of small electric scooters, bicycles and wheelchairs throughout Europe and Asia are powered by LifePO4 -- a material used in advanced lithium-ion batteries developed by Universite de Montreal researchers. ...> Full Article

Study finds particles, molecules prefer not to mix (5/7/2009)

In the world of small things, shape, order and orientation are surprisingly important, according to findings from a new study by chemists at Washington University in St. Louis. Lev Gelb, Washington University associate professor of chemistry, his graduate student Brian Barnes, and postdoctoral researcher Daniel Siderius, used computer simulations to study a very simple model of molecules on surfaces, which looks a lot like the computer game "Tetris." ...> Full Article

Scientists determine the structure of highly efficient light-harvesting molecules in green bacteria (5/6/2009)

An international science team has determined the structure of chlorophyll molecules in green bacteria, which are super-efficient at harvesting light energy. Because the interactions that lead to the assembly of the chlorophyll molecules are rather simple, so they provide good models for designing artificial systems. The research one day could be used to build artificial photosynthetic systems, such as those that convert solar energy to electrical energy. ...> Full Article

See the force: Mechanical stress leads to self-sensing in solid polymers (5/6/2009)

Parachute cords, climbing ropes, and smart coatings for bridges that change color when overstressed are several possible uses for force-sensitive polymers being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois. ...> Full Article

When atoms are getting close (5/5/2009)

In chemistry as well as in all adjoining sciences, an understanding of chemical bonding is of fundamental importance. Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen have now been able to detect the shortest single bond ever observed between atoms of chlorine and carbon in a molecule and to clarify the cause of the tight bond. ...> Full Article