Chemistry
- Health & Medicine
Phil Baran finds simple recipes for complex molecules
Chemist Phil Baran draws on artistry and creativity to efficiently synthesize molecules that could improve people's lives.
- Materials Science
Qian Chen makes matter come alive
Materials scientist Qian Chen is coaxing nanomaterials to self-assemble in new and unexpected ways.
- Archaeology
Oldest indigo-dyed fabric found
South American society was first known to use complex dye process on fabrics.
- Earth
Where the young hot Earth cached its gold
A simulation of the infant Earth provides a new view of how the iron-loving precious metals ended up buried deep in the planet’s core.
- Chemistry
FDA bans chemicals in antibacterial soaps
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled against 19 antibacterial soap ingredients, citing insufficient evidence of bacteria-killing and safety problems.
- Chemistry
X-rays reveal portrait hiding beneath Degas masterpiece
X-ray technique reveals an additional painting hiding behind Edgar Degas’ "Portrait of a Woman."
- Chemistry
Vaping’s toxic vapors come mainly from e-liquid solvents
New study homes in on a primary source of toxic vaping compounds: the thermal breakdown of solvents used to dissolve flavorings in e-liquids. And older, dirtier e-cigs generate more of these toxicants, study shows.
- Earth
Iron-loving elements tell stories of Earth’s history
By studying geochemical footprints of rare elements, researchers get a glimpse of the planet’s evolution.
- Earth
Ancient air bubbles could revise history of Earth’s oxygen
Pockets of ancient air trapped in rock salt for around 815 million years suggest that oxygen was abundant well before the first animals appear in the fossil record.
- Chemistry
Nuclear bomb debris can reveal blast size, even decades later
Measuring the relative abundance of various elements in debris left over from nuclear bomb tests can reveal the energy released in the initial blast, researchers report.
- Earth
Winning helium hunt lifts hopes element not running out
A volcanic region of Tanzania contains more than a trillion liters of helium gas, enough to fill 1.2 million medical MRI scanners — or hundreds of billions of balloons, researchers report.
- Archaeology
Ancient Europeans may have been first wine makers
A new chemical analysis uncovers the earliest known wine making in Europe.
