What makes brown rice healthy? Decoding the chemistry of its nutritional wealth
Asian diets feature rice as a staple grain, contributing towards nearly 90% of the world's rice consumption. Brown rice, in particular, is known to have several health benefits. As a regular addition to the diet, it can help reduce body weight, lower.....»»
Moving from the visible to the infrared: Developing high quality nanocrystals
Awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots have a wide variety of applications ranging from displays and LED lights to chemical reaction catalysis and bioimaging. These semiconductor nanocrystals are so small—on the order of nanometers.....»»
Non-destructive method developed for detecting internal cracks in rice seeds
Recently, a team led by Prof. Wang Rujing and Wang Liusan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed a method to detect internal cracks in rice seeds using near-infrared spectroscopy......»»
Innovative use of hyperspectral data and DCGANs enhances rice protein content estimation
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a crucial crop feeding over half of the global population. The demand for high-quality, protein-rich rice is rising, making accurate grain protein content (GPC) estimation vital for breeding superior varieties......»»
New catalysts enable greener ester synthesis
A new catalyst may well catalyze a shift to greener chemistry. Chemists from Yokohama National University have successfully developed innovative catalysts containing two noble metals that demonstrate remarkable efficiency in ester-producing chemical.....»»
Strawberries under the high-tech magnifying glass
Sweet flavors and healthy ingredients make strawberries one of the world's most popular berries. The complex biochemical compounds that determine the flavor and nutritional value of a strawberry—known as biomarkers—can only be determined in detai.....»»
Energy landscape theory sheds light on evolution of foldable proteins
A new study led by Rice University's Peter Wolynes offers new insights into the evolution of foldable proteins. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences......»»
Researchers uncover key mechanisms in chromosome structure development
Researchers at Rice University are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life cycle. Their study on motorized processes that actively influence the organization of chromosomes appears in the Proceeding.....»»
Boring Architecture Is Starving Your Brain
Thomas Heatherwick believes architecture has a “nutritional value” to society—and that the public desperately deserve a better offering......»»
Nitrogen-using bacteria can cut farms’ greenhouse gas emissions
Nitrogen fertilizers get converted to nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Enlarge (credit: Timothy Hearsum) Fritz Haber: good guy or bad guy? He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his part in developing the.....»»
Researchers uncover protein SRSF1"s uncommon ability to bind and unfold RNA G-quadruplexes
RNA transcription is the genomic process in which a cell produces a duplicate of a gene's DNA sequence. In a study published in Nucleic Acids Research, University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Chemistry Professor Jun Zhang, Ph.D., and his te.....»»
Novel virus identified in zebrafish from the pet trade causes disease in laboratory fish
Zebrafish in the pet trade are asymptomatic carriers of previously undescribed microbes, including a novel virus that causes hemorrhaging in infected laboratory fish, Marlen Rice from the University of Utah, US, and colleagues report in the open-acce.....»»
New method uses light to enable the generation of non-canonical amino acids
UC Santa Barbara researchers are building out the repertoire of chemical reactions, using light. In a paper published in the journal Nature, chemistry professor Yang Yang and collaborators at the University of Pittsburgh report a method using photobi.....»»
A new Hungarian method may aid protein research
In a paper recently published in Nature Communications, the HUN-REN-ELTE Protein Modeling Research Group (Institute of Chemistry) has laid the foundations for a mathematical method, allowing the computer-assisted comparison of the three-dimensional s.....»»
Families of Uvalde shooting victims sue Activision over Call of Duty’s role
Suit: Activision is "manipulating players' brain chemistry," ignoring "use by minors." Enlarge / Is this an aspirational image for mass shooters? (credit: Activision) The families of multiple victims of the 2022 mass sho.....»»
Lawsuit argues Call of Duty helped cause the Uvalde school shooting
Suit: Activision is "manipulating players' brain chemistry," ignoring "use by minors." Enlarge / Is this an aspirational image for mass shooters? (credit: Activision) The families of multiple victims of the 2022 mass sho.....»»
Chocolate"s tasty flavors might pose a health risk in other desserts
What makes chocolate taste and smell so delicious? Chemistry, of course. A variety of molecules work together to create that unmistakable aroma, but those same molecules might carry some unwanted health effects if there are too many around. According.....»»
To what extent are pharmaceutical and illicit drugs contaminating city rivers?
In research published in Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, investigators sampled water from 19 locations across the Hudson and East Rivers in 2021 and 2022 to identify and quantify the prescribed pharmaceuticals and drugs of abuse that are making.....»»
From leaf to cup: Decoding the biochemical dance of black tea"s fragrance
The journey from tea leaf to infusion is a complex one, with a multitude of factors influencing the final taste and aroma. Despite its importance, the precise biochemical mechanisms at play have been shrouded in mystery. Addressing this knowledge gap.....»»
Sweet secrets of the bayberry: Genetic insights set to transform fruit quality
The Chinese bayberry, Myrica rubra, is a subtropical fruit highly valued for its distinctive flavor, nutritional benefits, and economic importance. However, previous genome assemblies lacked sequence continuity, hindering comprehensive genetic studie.....»»
Scientists uncover a multibillion-year epic written into the chemistry of life
The origin of life on Earth has long been a mystery that has eluded scientists. A key question is how much of the history of life on Earth is lost to time. It is quite common for a single species to "phase out" using a biochemical reaction, and if th.....»»