Mimicking a molecule found in poppies
A Rice University undergraduate student's grit and talent paid off in a big way when she introduced the first synthesis of a rare and potentially potent molecule drawn from poppies. .....»»
How lake ice formation influences transformation of dissolved organic matter
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is the main form and active component of natural organic matter in lakes. Microbial- and photo-degradation of DOM can release large amounts of small molecule organic acids and biogenic substances......»»
Nanofluidic devices offer solutions for studying single molecule chemical reactions
In a chemical reaction, molecules in different substances meet one another to form new molecules causing changes in the bonds of their atoms. The molecules collide at an extremely close distance—a nanometer or less—in an extremely short amount of.....»»
A special carbon molecule can function as multiple high-speed switches at once
For the first time, an international team of researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo's Institute for Solid State Physics, has demonstrated a switch, analogous to a transistor, made from a single molecule called fullerene......»»
Studying epigenetic regulation at the single-molecule level
If one imagines the genome as an instruction manual for the functioning of a cell, every page of this manual is covered with annotations, highlights, and bookmarks. The role of some of these marks remains mysterious—do they actively direct the read.....»»
Researchers develop light-controlled drugs for future precision therapies against diseases such as cancer
Researchers from the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC) of Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have developed a series of photosensitive molecule drugs that can be reversibly activated by external light, thus achieving a much m.....»»
An AI-generated TV channel is mimicking ’90s sitcoms to nightmarish effect
The Twitch TV web series Nothing, Forever is inspired by the 1990s sitcom Seinfield and is almost completely generated by OpenAI's GPT3......»»
A possible strategy for a tabletop chiral attosecond laser
When molecules form from many atoms, the atoms can combine in different ways. Two forms of the same molecule can have the same composition but have different arrangements of atoms, giving rise to isomers. Some isomers may have structures that are mir.....»»
Rabi oscillations in a stretching molecule
Over eighty years ago, Rabi oscillations were proposed to describe the strong coupling and population transfer in a two-level quantum system exposed to an oscillatory driving field. As compared to atoms, molecules have an extra degree of vibration, w.....»»
Newly proposed strategy in chemistry sheds light on better applications in energy devices
A research team has proposed a new strategy to use a kind of molecule called zwitterions-polyoxometalates to optimize and broaden practical applications in energy devices such as fuel cells and supercapacitors. Their findings are published in Polyoxo.....»»
DNA sequencing method can detect where and how small molecule drugs interact with their targets
Many life-saving drugs directly interact with DNA to treat diseases such as cancer, but scientists have struggled to detect how and why they work—until now......»»
Researchers develop new, more accurate computational tool for long-read RNA sequencing
On the journey from gene to protein, a nascent RNA molecule can be cut and joined, or spliced, in different ways before being translated into a protein. This process, known as alternative splicing, allows a single gene to encode several different pro.....»»
In a first, chemists synthesize ocean-based molecule that could fight Parkinson"s
Organic chemists at UCLA have created the first synthetic version of a molecule recently discovered in a sea sponge that may have therapeutic benefits for Parkinson's disease and similar disorders. The molecule, known as lissodendoric acid A, appears.....»»
The effects of tightening a molecular knot
A study conducted by Anne-Sophie Duwez and Damien Sluysmans from the NANOCHEM group at the University of Liège (Belgium) has made it possible to decode the mechanical response of small-molecule synthetic overhand knots by single-molecule pulling exp.....»»
Novel synthesis process for sustainable production of small molecules
Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have discovered a new synthetic pathway with which they can produce a specific organic compound from the simple molecule carbon monoxide (CO), namely anionic ketenes. These were previously only known as.....»»
Electrons on the run: On chirality, tunneling and light fields
Will an electron escaping a molecule through a quantum tunnel behave differently depending on the left- or right-handedness of the molecule?.....»»
Scientists turn single molecule clockwise or counterclockwise on demand
Controlling the rotation of this molecule could lead to new technologies for microelectronics, quantum computing and more......»»
"Probing" the quality of compounds at the heart of biological research
Details of a major, updated online resource to help biomedical researchers use the best small-molecule reagents for their experiments have been published......»»
New fluorescent sensor reveals a key protein involved in interactions between cells
Researchers led by Osaka University report the development of INCIDER, a fluorescent sensor system that enables high-contrast microscopic imaging of temporal changes in cellular interactions mediated by the N-cadherin molecule. This sensor system, wh.....»»
Measuring times in billionths of a billionth of a second
How fast do electrons inside a molecule move? Well, it is so fast that it takes them just a few attoseconds (a billionth of billionth of a second) to jump from one atom to another. Blink and you missed it—millions of billions of times. So measuring.....»»
Can a new technique for capturing "hot" electrons make solar cells more efficient?
A new way of extracting quantitative information from state-of-the-art single molecule experiments has been developed by physicists at the University of Bath. Using this quantitative information, the researchers will be able to probe the ultra-fast p.....»»