Chemistry faces big challenges in controlling chemical reactions to create new products. This development has a significant impact on the industry, as it reduces waste in the manufacture of construction materials and improves the production of catalysts for speeding up chemical reactions. Polariton chemistry, which uses the tools of chemistry and quantum optics, has seen
Groundwater pumping has caused the Earth’s axis to shift and has contributed to sea-level rise, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Using climate models, researchers estimated that humans pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater between 1993 and 2010, the equivalent of over 6mm of sea-level rise. The Earth’s rotational pole moves during
Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a new catalyst that can convert toxic carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide gas even at room temperature. The so-called three-way catalytic converter in a car’s exhaust system only works correctly when the exhaust gases are several hundred degrees Celsius. As a result, toxic carbon monoxide remains in
A new international study conducted by a group of scientists led by the Universities of Groningen and Birmingham reveals that protecting our planet from the impact of climate change requires reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global food system, which currently accounts for a third of man-made GHG emissions. The research suggests that unless
Babies born via C-section miss out on the bacteria from their mother’s vagina. This can have an impact on the newborn’s microbiome, which may or may not impact their future health and development. To rebalance gut bacteria following a C-section, a small new study undertaken by researchers from Southern Medical University in China suggests the
The use of seaweed farming to capture sufficient carbon to meet climate goals may not be practical due to the vast ocean areas required to remove between 2.5 and 13 gigatons of atmospheric carbon per year, according to a study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The research suggests that around one million square kilometers
New research by scientists at The University of Manchester suggests that areas of the ocean that are rich in marine life are having a bigger impact on our ecosystems and the climate than previously thought. The research has identified the primary source of urea, a nitrogen-rich compound vital for the growth and development of living
Our skin is more than just a protective barrier; it is also a canvas for a unique and intricate pattern that is invisible to the naked eye. These patterns are known as Blaschko lines, and they are believed to trace the paths our cells took during embryonic development to form the skin we have today.
Researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have discovered six additional runaway stars in the Milky Way, including two record-breaking hypervelocity stars, which travel faster than any other runaway star detected in the galaxy. Four of these newly found objects are hypervelocity stars that travel at speeds exceeding the escape velocity of the Milky Way.
Scientists are becoming creative in engineering yeast or bacteria to produce chemicals that are useful. A group of chemists from different universities has a more ambitious goal of retooling the cell’s polypeptide manufacturing plants and modifying the ribosomes that spin amino acids into protein to produce polymer chains that are more elaborate. The goal of
Class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC-I) proteins are crucial in the immune system of all jawed vertebrates. They showcase peptide fragments of proteins present inside the cell on the cell surface, displaying them to the immune system. This allows the immune system to scan the body for foreign or toxic antigens. When foreign peptides are
A group of counterfeiters was recently caught producing fake luxury jewelry items by pouring molten metal into molds produced from the original jewelry. In a similar way, a template scaffold can produce an endless amount of molecular crystals of any shape or form. Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have used this
Recently, a graph showing a single red line that charts sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean went viral due to its startling display of unprecedented warming. The warming is nearly 2 degrees (1.09 Celsius) above the mean dating back to 1982, the earliest year with comparable data. Researchers are concerned about the huge
A new study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the University of Maryland, and Colorado State University has found a previously unknown reason why foods cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried foods, elevate the risk of cancer. The research discovered that the DNA
According to a study by researchers at the University of California, wildfires in California have consumed five times more area between 1996 and 2020 compared to the period between 1971 and 1995. The study found that nearly all of the increase in scorched terrain could be attributed to human-caused climate change. The researchers used climate
