A molecule of ammonia, NH3, typically exists as an umbrella shape, with three hydrogen atoms fanned out in a nonplanar arrangement around a central nitrogen atom. This umbrella structure is very stable and would normally be expected to require...
National University of Singapore chemists have developed a photo-induced method for late-stage functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds in organic molecules. The replacement of H in C-H bonds with other atoms or substituents is one of the most coveted ways to...
Revolutionary 'green' types of bricks and construction materials could be made from recycled PVC, waste plant fibers or sand with the help of a remarkable new kind of rubber polymer discovered by Australian scientists. The rubber polymer, itself made from...
Researchers in Strasbourg, France, have found that mixing two small biomolecules, glyoxylate and pyruvate, in iron-salt-rich water produces a reaction network resembling life's core biochemistry. This discovery provides insight into how chemistry on the early Earth primed the evolution...
World energy consumption projections predict that coal will remain one of the world's main energy sources in coming decades, and a growing share of it will be used in CTL, the conversion of coal to liquid fuels. Researchers from...
An artificial-intelligence approach created at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy can teach itself to design new drug molecules from scratch and has the potential to dramatically accelerate the design of new drug...
Scientists from the University of Bath have made a sustainable polymer using the second most abundant sugar in nature, xylose. Not only does the new nature-inspired material reduce reliance on crude oil products, but its properties can also be easily...
Crystal structure of Na2He, resembling a three-dimensional checkerboard. The purple spheres represent sodium atoms, which are inside the green cubes that represent helium atoms. The red regions inside voids of the structure show areas where localized electron pairs reside.Illustration...
An advanced imaging technique reveals new structural details of S-DNA, ladder-like DNA that forms when the molecule experiences extreme tension. This work conducted at Sandia National Laboratories and Vrije University in the Netherlands provides the first experimental evidence that...
Some novel materials that sound too good to be true turn out to be true and good. An emergent class of semiconductors, which could affordably light up our future with nuanced colors emanating from lasers, lamps, and even window...
Though it remains unknown how life began, there is a community of scientists who suspect it occurred in or around deep sea hydrothermal environments. At such sites, water heated by contact with hot rocks from Earth's mantle flows into...