The hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in air conditioners and other cooling devices are potent greenhouse gases. Today, scientists report a prototype that uses a novel solid barocaloric material. It could someday replace existing “A/Cs”. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.
Tag: Chemistry
Lupus pill shows promise in mice; clinical trial underway
There’s no cure for lupus, an autoimmune disease that attacks organs. But today, scientists report they have begun phase 2 clinical trials with a pill containing a compound that, in mice, reverses organ damage and prevents death. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.
Sensor could help patients stay on top of their meds
Lithium needs to be taken in just the right amount to be effective. Today, scientists report the development of a tiny sensor that detects lithium levels noninvasively from sweat on a fingertip in about 30 seconds. The researchers will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.
Food allergies can be reversed in mice by targeting the microbiome
Treating allergic mice with a form of butyrate — which is produced by good gut bacteria — protects against peanut allergy, scientists report today. The treatment might also counteract other food allergies and inflammatory diseases. They will present their results at ACS Fall 2022.
Baylor Study Combines Lithophane, 3D Printing to Enable Blind Individuals to “See” Data
Lithophane is an ancient artistic medium but never used to represent scientific data and imagery in a quantitative, controlled manner for tactile visualization and integration. Lithophane combined with 3D printing is turning scientific data into tactile graphics for all to see by eyesight or touch.
Multiple sclerosis drug works in a surprising way
Drugs called interferon betas are common treatments for multiple sclerosis. Interferon beta, a protein known to contain a zinc-binding pocket, is thought to reduce proinflammatory molecules in MS patients. But researchers now report in ACS Chemical Neuroscience that the molecule reduces the binding of three components — zinc, C-peptide and albumin — to red blood cells.
New drug candidate fights off more than 300 drug-resistant bacteria
Urinary tract infections are common, yet can be tough to treat as the bacteria that cause them become resistant to many antibiotics. In ACS Central Science, researchers report a new molecule that inhibits drug-resistant bacteria in lab experiments, as well as in mice with pneumonia and UTIs.
Stickers and a smartphone for easy nitrite detection on foods
Researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have developed a color-changing film that consumers can stick onto foods and easily analyze nitrite levels by snapping a picture with a smartphone.
Rapid, at-home prototype saliva test that’s as good as RT-PCR
At-home COVID-19 tests have become an easy way to self-diagnose. But current tests have drawbacks. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have developed a SARS-CoV-2 saliva assay and prototype device that combine speed and ease with high sensitivity.
People respond differently to psychedelic drugs — genetics could be the reason
Psychedelic drugs have shown benefits as treatments for cluster headaches, anxiety and depression in clinical studies, but not for everyone. Now, in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, researchers report that one reason could be common genetic variations in one serotonin receptor.
Enriching Science Education with Thin Films
Tiffany Kaspar’s work has advanced the discovery and understanding of oxide materials, helping develop electronics, quantum computing, and energy production. She strives to communicate her science to the public.
‘Pulling back the curtain’ to reveal a molecular key to The Wizard of Oz
Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have developed a durable molecular encryption key from sequence-defined polymers that are built and deconstructed in a sequential way. They hid their molecular key in the ink of a letter, which was mailed and then used to decrypt a file.
Washington State Academy of Sciences Adds Six PNNL Researchers
The Washington State Academy of Sciences added six people from PNNL to its 2022 class of inductees.
Crop Protection: Biohacking against Fungal Attacks
Harmful fungi cause enormous agricultural losses. Conventional techniques for combating them involve the use of poisonous fungicides. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), working with partners from Germany, France, and Switzerland on the DialogProTec project, have developed environmentally safe alternatives that trick the pathogens’ chemical communication with plants. Now that the research has been completed, the new technology is ready for use.
Researchers propose dual-plating strategy to rapidly construct microbatteries
High-performance, micro-sized electrochemical energy storage devices are essential for future miniaturized electronic devices, such as smart medical implants, wireless sensors, and the Internet of Things.
Turning white blood cells into medicinal microrobots with light
Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have used lasers to precisely control neutrophils — a type of white blood cell — as a natural, biocompatible microrobot in living fish. The “neutrobots” performed multiple tasks, showing they could someday deliver drugs to precise locations in the body.
Chemists find a contrary effect: How diluting with water makes a solution firm
In Science Magazine, TU/e researchers publish teir research on new phase transitions of solutions and gels in water, which instinctively go against the basic principles of chemistry – and which they discovered by accident.
Tabletop Magnetic Resonance Units to Revolutionize Diagnostics and Materials Analysis
In the HyPERiON CRC coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), researchers from KIT and the universities of Kaiserslautern, Konstanz and Stuttgart are jointly developing technology for compact high-performance magnetic resonance units. In the future, the devices could be used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, in medical practices or at border checkpoints. The German Research Foundation is funding the interdisciplinary group with more than 10.6 million euros for four years starting on July 1, 2022.
These energy-packed batteries work well in extreme cold and heat
Researchers developed lithium-ion batteries that perform well at freezing cold and scorching hot temperatures, while packing a lot of energy. This could help electric cars travel farther on a single charge in the cold and reduce the need for cooling systems for the cars’ batteries in hot climates.
Shine a light: New research shows how low-energy light can bend plastic
A team of Florida State University researchers has uncovered a way to use low-energy light to manipulate photopolymers or plastic films — a finding that has implications for a wide range of technologies that use light as an energy source to create shape-shifting structures.
Thin-film Photovoltaic Technology Combines Efficiency and Versatility
Stacking solar cells increases their efficiency. Working with partners in the EU-funded PERCISTAND project, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced perovskite/CIS tandem solar cells with an efficiency of nearly 25 percent – the highest value achieved thus far with this technology. Moreover, this combination of materials is light and versatile, making it possible to envision the use of these tandem solar cells in vehicles, portable equipment, and devices that can be folded or rolled up. The researchers present their results in the journal ACS Energy Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c00707)
Press registration opens for the hybrid ACS Fall 2022 meeting
The American Chemical Society’s ACS Fall 2022 will be held virtually and in Chicago Aug. 21–25 with the theme “Sustainability in a Changing World.” ACS considers requests for press credentials and complimentary meeting registration from reporters and public information officers at selected institutions.
URI doctoral student among 80 graduate students chosen for U.S. Department of Energy program
URI doctoral student Cali Antolini receives six month fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago to research photochemical and photocatalytic reactions and photovoltaic material performance.
A Biological Super Glue From Mistletoe Berries?
Each mistletoe berry can produce up to two metres of a gluey thread called viscin. It allows the seeds of this parasitic plant to stick to and infect host plants.
Exploring New Materials Through Collaboration
Materials Scientist Jim De Yoreo guides a team that develops novel materials and understands how they form through collaboration and mentorship.
Closed-loop additive manufacturing fueled by upcycled plastic
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an upcycling approach that adds value to discarded plastics for reuse in additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. The readily adoptable, scalable method introduces a closed-loop strategy that could globally reduce plastic waste and cut carbon emissions tied to plastic production.
‘E-nose’ sniffs out mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Some household products release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that negatively impact health, including xylene, which exists as isomers that are hard to monitor separately. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have developed an electric nose that can accurately distinguish xylene isomer mixtures.
Lithium-ion batteries that last longer in extreme cold
To improve lithium-ion batteries’ performance in extreme cold, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science replaced the traditional graphite anode with a bumpy carbon-based material, which maintains its rechargeable storage capacity down to -31 F.
New Way to Identify Influenza a Virus Lights Up When Specific Virus Targets Are Present
The influenza A virus, which is responsible for seasonal flu outbreaks, is also the only influenza virus that has previously caused flu pandemics.
Synthesis of tetraphenylammonium, a phantom ion whose existence had not been confirmed
Since the benzene ring is a representative constituent of organic compounds, a structure consisting only of a common element plus the benzene ring is considered to be one of the most fundamental chemical skeletons.
The future of flight: decarbonizing aviation
Argonne hosted a sustainable aviation fuels workshop, bringing together over 100 leaders in the U.S. aviation industry to discuss their mutual goals of achieving a greener future for commercial aviation.
Electrolyte Additive Offers Lithium Battery Performance Breakthrough
UPTON, NY—A team of researchers led by chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has learned that an electrolyte additive allows stable high-voltage cycling of nickel-rich layered cathodes. Their work could lead to improvements in the energy density of lithium batteries that power electric vehicles.
CityU co-hosts online science and tech conference with Nature journals; pre launch for CityU’s HK Tech Forum
Leading scientists exchanged innovative views on contemporary trends in the chemistry of 2D materials at a three-day online conference co-organised by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Nature Conferences, the preeminent series curated by the highly prestigious science journal Nature and Nature journals.
New non-radioactive, neutral reagent reveals viruses in clear detail
Seeing is believing — or, for scientists, the beginning of understanding.
UWM grads help provide domestic source of critical medical diagnostic material
UWM graduates support the companies in the production of molybdenum-99, the parent of technetium-99m, the most widely used radioisotope in the world for diagnostic medical imaging. The materials are often abbreviated as Mo-99 and Tc-99m.)
Lights, catalyst, reaction! Converting CO2 to formic acid using an alumina-supported, iron-based compound
Photoreduction of CO2 into transportable fuel like formic acid (HCOOH) is a great way of dealing with CO2’s rising levels in the atmosphere.
Machine Learning Framework IDs Targets for Improving Catalysts
Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new machine-learning (ML) framework that can zero in on which steps of a multistep chemical conversion should be tweaked to improve productivity. The approach could help guide the design of catalysts — chemical “dealmakers” that speed up reactions.
Children’s products labeled water- or stain-resistant may contain PFAS, study says
Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology show that some children’s products advertised as water- or stain-resistant contain potentially harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), even items labeled “green” or “nontoxic.”
A better way to create compounds for pharmaceuticals, other chemicals
What do gunpowder, penicillin and Teflon all have in common? They were inventions that took the world by storm, but they were all created by complete accident.
Brookhaven Chemist Minfang Yeh Wins 2021 DPF Instrumentation Award
UPTON, NY—Minfang Yeh, a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, has won the American Physical Society’s 2021 Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) Instrumentation Award. The award honors Yeh’s pioneering work in the development and production of high-performance water-based liquid scintillators for particle physics experiments, including metal loaded scintillators for rare process experiments.
UCI scientists turn a hydrogen molecule into a quantum sensor
Irvine, Calif., April 22, 2022 — Physicists at the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated the use of a hydrogen molecule as a quantum sensor in a terahertz laser-equipped scanning tunneling microscope, a technique that can measure the chemical properties of materials at unprecedented time and spatial resolutions.
A midge fly can be a source of currently used pesticides for birds, bats
Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have observed that non-biting midge larvae accumulate contemporary pesticides from polluted water and retain the substances into adulthood. As a result, animals that eat the adult flies could consume small amounts of pesticides daily.
Waste coffee grounds could someday help detect brain waves
There’s nothing like a cuppa to give your morning a boost. Researchers report the first use of waste coffee grounds as electrode coatings for sensitive neurochemistry measurements, which could help scientists get a better handle on brain activity. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2022.
Meet VMS – the briefcase-sized chemistry lab headed to Venus
Short for Venus Mass Spectrometer, VMS is one of five instruments aboard the DAVINCI descent probe.
Converting Methane to Methanol — With and Without Water
UPTON, NY — Chemists have been searching for efficient catalysts to convert methane — a major component of abundant natural gas — into methanol, an easily transported liquid fuel and building block for making other valuable chemicals. Adding water to the reaction can address certain challenges, but it also complicates the process.
Sweat-collecting patch inspired by cactus spines
A sweat-collecting patch has been developed using the principle based on how the cactus spines attract water.
Energy Secretary, Washington Governor Dedicate Energy Sciences Center at PNNL
Fundamental research conducted at the $90-million research facility will help the nation meet its clean energy goals.
Imaging the Chemical Fingerprints of Molecules
Experiment, theory, and simulation show basic chemical properties are imprinted in atomic force microscope images and may help ID unknown molecules.
Scientists find strange black ‘superionic ice’ that could exist inside other planets
Scientists have discovered a way to recreate the ice that exists inside planets like Neptune and Uranus, ice which forms at extremely high temperatures and pressures.
Not so Basic: Advances in pH and Phosphate Monitoring Enhance Safety in Nuclear Fuel Recycling
Two PNNL interns are behind recent innovation in real-time testing and continuous monitoring for pH and the concentration of chemicals of interest in chemical solutions; outcomes have applicability not only to nuclear, but to industries.