Chemistry

Paper Waste Makes Good Insulating Bricks

Researchers in Spain have mixed paper industry waste with ceramic material used in the construction industry and created a brick that has low thermal conductivity and so is a good insulator.  What's the catch? Its mechanical resistance still requires ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 30 2012 - 4:30pm

Zinc Not Biolimiting: New Data Challenge A Hypothesis About Evolution Of Eukaryotes

A research team has tested a popular zinc hypothesis in paleo-ocean chemistry and concluded it is false. ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 23 2012 - 5:32pm

Tetracationic Repulsion Repulsed: Love Triumphs Over Hate To Make Exotic New Compound

Northwestern University graduate student Jonathan Barnes and colleagues are the first to permanently interlock two identical tetracationic rings that normally are repelled by each other. Some experts had said it couldn't be done.  On the surface, the ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 24 2013 - 4:30pm

Humulones: Bitter Compounds In Beer Help Brew New Medicines

Researchers employing a century-old observational technique have determined the precise configuration of humulones, substances derived from hops that give beer its distinctive flavor.  That might not sound like a big deal but the findings overturn results ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2015 - 5:34pm

Natural Preservatives Mean A Tastier Loaf Of Bread That Still Lasts

Researchers analyzed strains of mold fermented in sourdough bread and were able to isolate natural compounds that can help keep bread fresh without changing its flavor, resulting in a tastier loaf. Michael Ganzle, professor and Canada Research Chair in th ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 25 2013 - 11:53am

Defluoridating Drinking Water Using Medicinal Herbs

Fluoride is good but too much of anything can be bad. However, a filter system developed in India using a medicinal herb is very, very good. The technology uses parts of the plant Tridax procumbens as a biocarbon filter for the ion. ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 6 2013 - 11:17am

Weekend Science: The Chemistry Of Hangovers

Since today is a celebration of St. Patrick, the religious figure who 'drove the snakes out of Ireland' (meaning Paganism), a whole lot of people got drunk last night.   Yeah, Protestants getting drunk the night before before a Catholic religious ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Mar 29 2013 - 10:27am

Breathprint: Now Your Breathing Has A Fingerprint Too

Bodily fluids contain lots of information about the health of people, that is why medical doctors routinely have blood and urine analyzed. But bodily fluids can do more than mark infectious diseases or cancer and organ failure, researchers at ETH Zurich a ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 3 2013 - 6:30pm

The Secret Ingredient In Primordial Soup

If objects from space kindled life on Earth, how did it happen? The terrestrial or extra-terrestrial case for important ingredients that led to the building blocks of life is a hot debate. A new paper says that  adenosine triphosphate, similar to what is ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 4 2013 - 11:03am

Mechanochemistry: Physical Catalyst Makes Going Green Good Science

New research hopes to create reactions necessary for industries such as pharmaceutical companies but eliminate the resulting waste from traditional methods.  Traditional methods – dating back thousands of years – involve using solutions to speed up chemic ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 8 2013 - 12:32pm