Chemistry

  1. Environment

    Oil from BP spill probably sprayed out in tiny drops

    Oil that gushed from the well in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill may have shattered into tiny droplets, with high pressures doing the work of dispersants.

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  2. Anthropology

    Kennewick Man’s bones reveal his diet

    Pacific Northwest man who lived 9,000 years ago ate from an almost entirely seafood menu, a new analysis finds.

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  3. Chemistry

    Idea for new battery material isn’t nuts

    Baking foam peanuts at high heat can form wee structures that lure lithium ions and could make for cheaper, more powerful batteries.

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  4. Chemistry

    Air pollution molecules make key immune protein go haywire

    Reactive molecules in air pollution derail immune responses in the lung and can trigger life-long asthma.

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  5. Chemistry

    Today’s pot is more potent, less therapeutic

    The medicinal qualities of marijuana may be up in smoke thanks to years of cross-breeding plants for a better buzz.

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  6. Chemistry

    New method leaves older ways of 3-D printing in its goopy wake

    Finding the sweet spot in a pool of resin, chemists can create detailed 3-D objects faster than 3-D printers.

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  7. Chemistry

    Cooking up life’s ingredients, all in one pot

    An interconnected series of chemical reactions with a few primordial chemicals can cook up all the necessary elements of life

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  8. Anthropology

    People moved into rainforests much earlier than thought

    People lived year-round in rainforests well before previous estimates, an analysis of teeth excavated in Sri Lanka suggests.

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  9. Chemistry

    Iron nanoparticles snatch uranium

    With a dash of iron nanoparticles and a magnet, researchers can quickly harvest radioactive fuel.

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  10. Chemistry

    Brute-force chemistry study retracted

    The journal Science has retracted a notable 2011 chemistry study in which authors reported a brawny method to break sturdy chemical structures.

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  11. Materials Science

    Old chemistry gives jolt to modern batteries

    Chemical reactions discovered in the 19th century improve the performance of futuristic batteries.

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  12. Materials Science

    Oxygen sneaks into titanium, making it brittle

    Oxygen atoms trigger defects in titanium’s atomic structure, making the metal brittle.

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