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Archive for the ‘chemistry’ category: Page 75

Oct 14, 2023

Mechanism decoded: How synapses are formed

Posted by in categories: chemistry, neuroscience

Whether in the brain or in the muscles, wherever there are nerve cells, there are synapses. These contact points between neurons form the basis for the transmission of excitation, the communication between neurons. As in any communication process, there is a sender and a receiver: Nerve cell processes called axons generate and transmit electrical signals thereby acting as signal senders.

Synapses are points of contact between axonal nerve terminals (the pre-synapse) and post-synaptic neurons. At these , the electrical impulse is converted into that are received and sensed by the post-synapses of the neighboring neuron. The messengers are released from special membrane sacs called .

As well as transmitting information, synapses can also store information. While the structure and function of synapses are comparably well understood, little is known about how they are formed.

Oct 14, 2023

How a scientist looking to prove his food wasn’t fresh discovered radioactive tracers and won a Nobel Prize

Posted by in categories: chemistry, food, habitats

Each October, the Nobel Prizes celebrate a handful of groundbreaking scientific achievements. And while many of the awarded discoveries revolutionize the field of science, some originate in unconventional places. For George de Hevesy, the 1943 Nobel Laureate in chemistry who discovered radioactive tracers, that place was a boarding house cafeteria in Manchester, U.K., in 1911.

De Hevesey had the sneaking suspicion that the staff of the boarding house cafeteria where he ate at every day was reusing leftovers from the dinner plates – each day’s soup seemed to contain all of the prior day’s ingredients. So he came up with a plan to test his theory.

Oct 14, 2023

Is it Possible to Grow Cement? Prometheus Materials and the Transformation of Concrete

Posted by in categories: chemistry, sustainability

Innovation thrives when we pause to observe, question, and reimagine the world around us, turning challenges into opportunities for progress. Nature, in particular, serves as a rich source of inspiration. By observing it, studying its daily challenges, and contemplating its processes, we can discover valuable insights that inspire innovative solutions.

One of these current challenges is the production of concrete, an ancient and extremely popular material that is now accountable for a significant portion of global CO₂ emissions, due to the energy-intensive process of cement production and the chemical reactions involved. It is estimated to be responsible for approximately 8% of the world’s… More.


Explore the impressive properties of Prometheus Materials’ zero-carbon bio-concrete, a sustainable alternative to traditional concrete.

Continue reading “Is it Possible to Grow Cement? Prometheus Materials and the Transformation of Concrete” »

Oct 14, 2023

Ediacaran fossils reveal origins of biomineralization that led to expansion of life on Earth

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry

Life on Earth began from a single-celled microbe, while the rise to the multicellular world in which we live arose due a vital chemical process known as biomineralization, during which living organisms produce hardened mineralized tissue, such as skeletons. Not only did this phenomenon give rise to the plethora of body plans we see today, but it also had a major impact on the planet’s carbon cycle.

Fossil skeletons of cloudinids (Cloudina), tubular structures comprised of carbonate cones up to ~1.5cm in length, have been found in Tsau Khaeb National Park, Namibia, dating back to 551–550 million years ago in the Ediacaran (~635–538 million years ago). Dr. Fred Bowyer, from the University of Edinburgh, and colleagues aimed to use these fossils to define the location, timing and reason for why biomineralization initiated on Earth and the magnitude of its impact.

New research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters combines sediment analysis with geochemical data in the form of carbon and (the same element with different atomic masses) from limestones in the Kliphoek Member, Nama Group. The research team suggest this rock was once deposited in a during a lowstand before a period of transition to open marine conditions.

Oct 14, 2023

Novel membrane could reduce energy expenditure in separating molecules for desalination, drug development

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Separating molecules is critical to producing many essential products. For example, in petroleum refining, the hydrocarbons—chemical compounds composed of hydrogens and carbons—in crude oil are separated into gasoline, diesel and lubricants by sorting them based on their molecular size, shape and weight. In the pharmaceutical industry, the active ingredients in medications are purified by separating drug molecules from the enzymes, solutions and other components used to make them.

These separation processes take a substantial amount of energy, accounting for roughly half of U.S. industrial energy use. Traditionally, molecular separations have relied on methods that require intensive heating and cooling that make them very energy inefficient.

We are chemical and biological engineers. In our newly published research in Science, we designed a new type of membrane with nanopores that can quickly and precisely separate a diverse range of molecules under harsh industrial conditions.

Oct 13, 2023

Surprising discovery shows electron beam radiation can repair nanostructures

Posted by in categories: chemistry, nanotechnology

In a surprising new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures.

The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day.

“For a long time, researchers studying nanostructures were thinking that when we put the crystals under radiation to study them that they would degrade,” said Andre Mkhoyan, a University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science professor and lead researcher in the study. “What we showed in this study is that when we took a crystal of titanium dioxide and irradiate it with an electron , the naturally occurring narrow actually filled in and healed themselves.”

Oct 13, 2023

Unraveling Quantum Secrets: Physicists Bridge Two Quantum Worlds

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

“The surprising thing we found is that in a particular kind of crystal lattice, where electrons become stuck, the strongly coupled behavior of electrons in d atomic orbitals actually act like the f orbital systems of some heavy fermions,” said Qimiao Si, co-author of a study about the research in Science Advances

<em> Science Advances </em> is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal that is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It was launched in 2015 and covers a wide range of topics in the natural sciences, including biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and physics.

Oct 12, 2023

What are kilonovas?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

A kilonova is a bright blast of electromagnetic radiation that happens when two neutron stars or a neutron star and a stellar-mass black hole collide and merge.

When these collisions occur, a vast amount of material is ejected from the neutron stars, the ultradense cores of massive stars that have reached the ends of their lives. This matter is rich in neutral particles called neutrons, and in this violent sea of particles around a neutron star merger, the heaviest elements of the periodic table are forged. These include gold and platinum, radioactive materials such as uranium, and the iodine that flows through our blood. In fact, many pieces of jewelry owe their existence to a kilonova-triggering event.

Oct 12, 2023

NASA’s first asteroid-return sample is a goldmine of life-sustaining materials

Posted by in categories: chemistry, space

The powdery material that NASA officials unveiled on Wednesday looked like asphalt or charcoal, but was easily worth more than its weight in diamonds. The fragments were from a world all their own—pieces of the asteroid Bennu, collected and returned to Earth for analysis by the OSIRIS-REx mission. The samples hold chemical clues to the formation of our solar system and the origin of life-supporting water on our planet.

The clay and minerals from the 4.5 billion-year-old rock had been preserved in space’s deep freeze since the dawn of the solar system. Last month, after a seven-year-long space mission, they parachuted to a desert in Utah, where they were whisked away by helicopter.

Continue reading “NASA’s first asteroid-return sample is a goldmine of life-sustaining materials” »

Oct 12, 2023

Asteroid 33 Polyhymnia May Contain Elements Outside The Periodic Table

Posted by in categories: chemistry, physics, space

Some asteroids are dense. So dense in fact, that they may contain heavy elements outside of the periodic table, according to a new study on mass density.

The team of physicists from The University of Arizona say they were motivated by the possibility of Compact Ultradense Objects (CUDOs) with a mass density greater than Osmium, the densest naturally occurring, stable element, with its 76 protons.

“In particular, some observed asteroids surpass this mass density threshold. Especially noteworthy is the asteroid 33 Polyhymnia,” the team writes in their study, adding that “since the mass density of asteroid 33 Polyhymnia is far greater than the maximum mass density of familiar atomic matter, it can be classified as a CUDO with an unknown composition.”

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