Chemistry
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Plants
Chemists pin down poppy’s tricks for making morphine
Scientists have figured out two of the final key steps in the chain of chemical reactions that the opium poppy uses to synthesize morphine, suggesting possible signaling strategies for new ways of making the drug and its cousin painkillers.
- Chemistry
Pit vipers’ night vision explained
A new study finds the protein responsible for snakes’ sense of heat.
- Chemistry
Polymer shifts shape with changing temperature
Common material’s ‘memory’ could be exploited for smart fabrics or other gadgets.
- Physics
Aluminum superatoms may split water
Metal clusters could create hydrogen for fuel, simulations suggest.
- Chemistry
Plasticizers kept from leaching out
‘Chemicals of concern’ may be made safer in new materials.
- Chemistry
Naming an atomic heavyweight
More than a decade after its debut in a German lab, element 112 is officially named copernicium.
- Chemistry
Tiny molecules walk the track
Researchers design synthetic “walking” molecules that may one day haul cargo in artificial micromachines.
- Materials Science
A charge for freezing water at different temperatures
Experiments use positive and negative forces to control ice formation at temperatures well below the normal freezing point.
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- Chemistry
New material sops up radioactive cesium
Isotope catcher could safely store waste from power plants.
- Materials Science
Breakup doesn’t keep hydrogel down
Scientists create a new material that is strong, soft and self-healing.
- Life
Snail in shining armor
A deep-sea gastropod’s natural shield may offer ideas for human protection.
