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Archive for the ‘chemistry’ category: Page 27

Apr 24, 2024

Researchers detect a new molecule in space

Posted by in categories: chemistry, space travel

New research from the group of MIT Professor Brett McGuire has revealed the presence of a previously unknown molecule in space. The team’s open-access paper, “Rotational Spectrum and First Interstellar Detection of 2-Methoxyethanol Using ALMA Observations of NGC 6334I,” was published in the April 12 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Zachary T.P. Fried, a graduate student in the McGuire group and the lead author of the publication, worked to assemble a puzzle comprised of pieces collected from across the globe, extending beyond MIT to France, Florida, Virginia, and Copenhagen, to achieve this exciting discovery.

“Our group tries to understand what molecules are present in regions of where stars and solar systems will eventually take shape,” explains Fried. “This allows us to piece together how chemistry evolves alongside the process of star and planet formation. We do this by looking at the rotational spectra of molecules, the unique patterns of light they give off as they tumble end-over-end in space.

Apr 24, 2024

E. coli engineered to become methanol addict to make industry feedstocks

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, food

Bacterium could head off food versus fuel dilemma by producing chemicals from agricultural waste.

Apr 23, 2024

MXenes-based energy storage devices could be charged in seconds

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, engineering

A team at Texas A&M University is taking significant steps for the development of a new generation of energy storage devices. They aim to develop a device that can combine the benefits of current technologies while addressing their limitations.

Dr. Abdoulaye Djire, a chemical engineering professor at Texas A&M University, as well as a few chemistry engineering graduates are focusing on MXenes, which is expected to be a compelling alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Currently, the team is exploring the major advantages of nitride MXenes.

Apr 23, 2024

Electrochemists Wanted for Vocational Degrees

Posted by in category: chemistry

Paul Kempler runs a master’s program at the University of Oregon that provides hands-on electrochemistry training for those wanting to enter the field without them having to take a five-year-long PhD.

Apr 22, 2024

Forever is nonsense

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, life extension, particle physics

Venki Ramakrishnan’s is the real-deal ‘pivot story’ — ‘pivoting’ being quite the fancy thing to do today. Born in Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu in 1952, Venki wanted to be a physicist, and by the time he decided to do something about his passion for Biology, he was already a PhD in Physics from Ohio University, USA. He then ‘pivoted’ and studied Biology at the University of California, San Diego, before he began his post-doctoral work at Yale University.

He went on to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for his work on cellular particles called ribosomes. His first book, Gene Machine, captures this journey with the kind of honesty and self-deprecation one does not expect from an award-winning scientist.

With similar candour, in his second book, he examines recent scientific breakthroughs in longevity and ageing and raises uncomfortable questions about the ethical aspects of the research as well as the biological purpose of death.

Apr 22, 2024

Scientists Discover Potential Interstellar Origins of Life on Earth

Posted by in categories: chemistry, space travel

I found this on NewsBreak: Scientists Discover Potential Interstellar Origins of Life on Earth.

Apr 22, 2024

Electric-field-assisted proton coupling enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

Posted by in category: chemistry

Manganese complexes have long been utilized by nature to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but mirroring their efficiency in artificial electrochemical systems has proven difficult. This study centers on alpha-manganese dioxide (α-MnO2), which closely mimics natural MnIV-O-MnIII-HxO motifs, presenting a novel method for manipulating proton coupling within the OER process using an external electric field.

Apr 21, 2024

“One Ring To Rule Them All” — Molecular Biologists Have Cracked the Formin Code

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Actin is a highly abundant protein that controls the shape and movement of all our cells. Actin achieves this by assembling into filaments, one actin molecule at a time. The proteins of the formin family are pivotal partners in this process: positioned at the filament end, formins recruit new actin subunits and stay associated with the end by ‘stepping’ with the growing filament.

There are as many as 15 different formins in our cells that drive actin filament growth at different speeds and for different purposes. Yet, the exact mechanism of action of formins and the basis for their different inherent speeds have remained elusive. Now, for the first time, researchers from the groups of Stefan Raunser and Peter Bieling at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund have visualized at the molecular level how formins bind to the ends of actin filaments.

This allowed them to uncover how formins mediate the addition of new actin molecules to a growing filament. Furthermore, they elucidated the reasons for the different speeds at which the different formins promote this process. The MPI researchers used a combination of biochemical strategies and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). The breakthrough, published in the journal Science, can help us explain why certain mutations in formins can lead to neurological, immune, and cardiovascular diseases.

Apr 21, 2024

Unlocking the Secrets of Space Chemistry With Cold Coulomb Crystals

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics, space travel

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed experiments to replicate the chemical reactions of the Interstellar Medium, using techniques like laser cooling and mass spectrometry to observe interactions between ions and molecules.

While it may not look like it, the interstellar space between stars is far from empty. Atoms, ions, molecules, and more reside in this ethereal environment known as the Interstellar Medium (ISM). The ISM has fascinated scientists for decades, as at least 200 unique molecules form in its cold, low-pressure environment. It’s a subject that ties together the fields of chemistry, physics, and astronomy, as scientists from each field work to determine what types of chemical reactions happen there.

Now, in the recently published cover article of the Journal of Physical Chemistry A, JILA Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder Physics Professor Heather Lewandowski and former JILA graduate student Olivia Krohn highlight their work to mimic ISM conditions by using Coulomb crystals, a cold pseudo-crystalline structure, to watch ions and neutral molecules interact with each other.

Apr 21, 2024

Precision Spectroscopy Now Possible Under Starved-Light Conditions

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics, quantum physics

In a study recently published in Nature, researchers from the Max Born Institute in Berlin, Germany, and the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching have unveiled a new technique for deciphering the properties of matter with light, that can simultaneously detect and precisely quantify many substances with a high chemical selectivity.

Their technique interrogates the atoms and molecules in the ultraviolet spectral region at very feeble light levels. Using two optical frequency combs and a photon counter, the experiments open up exciting prospects for conducting dual-comb spectroscopy in low-light conditions and they pave the way for novel applications of photon-level diagnostics, such as precision spectroscopy of single atoms or molecules for fundamental tests of physics and ultraviolet photochemistry in the Earth’s atmosphere or from space telescopes.

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