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Latest news from laboratory, environment, chemistry, life science and quality control

• Nanoparticles capture pollutants
  Pouring flecks of rust into water usually makes it dirtier. But researchers of FAU have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles they call "smart rust" that actually makes it cleaner. Smart rust ...
• Light regulates structural conversion of chiral molecules
  Just like our hands, certain organic molecules relate to each other like an image and its reflection - a phenomenon that chemists call "chirality" or "handedness". The two mirror images of the same...
• New antibacterial agent decoded
  More and more bacterial pathogens are developing resistance. There is an increasing risk that common drugs will no longer be effective against infectious diseases. That is why scientists around the...
• New epoxy resin: recyclable, repairable and flame retardant
  Epoxy resins are tough and versatile polymers. In combination with glass or carbon fibers, they are used, for example, to manufacture components for aircraft, cars, trains, ships and wind turbines....
• A nanocapsulation strategy for facile analysis and processing of insoluble aromatic polymers
  Polymers composed of aromatic frameworks are attracting increasing attention for the construction of highly functional materials. So far, their application has been limited by their virtual insolub...
• Transforming flies into degradable plastics
  Imagine using insects as a source of chemicals to make plastics that can biodegrade later - with the help of that very same type of bug. That concept is closer to reality than you might expect. Tod...
• Coronavirus: Mass spectrometry as a new rapid and reliable detection method
  Commercially available mass spectrometers can reliably detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In the journal "Clinical proteomics" researchers from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) p...
• Methane formation in the inanimate environment
  Iron and reactive oxygen species - exposed to light and heat - drive the formation of the greenhouse gas methane in aqueous environments. Methane formation is also possible under abiotic conditions...
• Chromium replaces rare and expensive noble metals
  Expensive noble metals often play a vital role in illuminating screens or converting solar energy into fuels. Now, chemists at the University of Basel have succeeded in replacing these rare element...
• First DIN for Photocatalytic Synthesis - Standards for Light-driven CO₂ Reduction
  The first standardization document for photocatalytic synthesis was created with the significant participation of a chemist at the Rostock Leibniz Institute for Catalysis, LIKAT. Called "DIN SPEC 9...
• New redox chemistry empowered by chloride ions to develop seawater green batteries
  Modern lithium-ion batteries used in various applications, including electric vehicles, can be problematic for grid storage, given their high cost and reliance on critical materials, such as cobalt...
• New recycling process could find markets for 'junk' plastic waste
  Although many Americans dutifully deposit their plastic trash into the appropriate bins each week, many of those materials, including flexible films, multilayer materials and a lot of colored plast...
• Indicator of PFAS found in some - but not all - period products
  Period products come in a variety of styles - liners, pads, tampons, cups and underwear - to help people feel comfortable during a menstrual bleed. But their labels don't usually list the ingredien...
• Researchers "film" novel catalyst at work
  A novel catalysis scheme enables chemical reactions that were previously virtually impossible. The method developed at the University of Bonn is also environmentally friendly and does not require r...
• Deadly fungus beaten with new type of treatment
  Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Research Science (CSRS) and the University of Toronto have discovered a new way to attack fungal infections. The key is to block fungi from being abl...
• On-off switch for enzymes
  Researchers at TU Graz have gained new insights into the functioning of a protein found in bacteria, whose enzymatic activity is activated by blue light. Light affects living organisms in many diff...
• Diamond sensor measures the position of individual X-ray flashes
  Using a special diamond sensor, researchers at European XFEL have succeeded in precisely measuring the position of the extremely intense and short X-ray flashes generated by the facility-in a pulse...
• Self-healing plastic becomes biodegradable
  Konstanz chemists develop mineral plastics with numerous positive properties from sustainable basic building blocks and, together with biologists, demonstrate the material's excellent microbiologic...
• Water purification by combining fungi and bacteria
  Nitrogen, especially in the form of inorganic nitrite and nitrate, is one of the major pollutants in freshwaters and human wastewater. Researchers from the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in ...
• New Superconductors Can Be Built Atom by Atom
  The future of electronics will be based on novel kinds of materials. Sometimes, however, the naturally occurring topology of atoms makes it difficult for new physical effects to be created. To tack...
• Zinc batteries with double efficiency for the production of hydrogen
  Heating homes with solar power in midwinter - the renewable energy revolution wants to build a climate-friendly future for the world. But the move away from fossil fuels will remain a challenge as ...
• Detection of bacteria and viruses with fluorescent nanotubes
  An interdisciplinary research team from Bochum, Duisburg and Zurich has developed a new approach to construct modular optical sensors which are capable of detecting viruses and bacteria. For this p...
• Tracing invisible microplastic particles
  How high are concentrations of microplastics in the environment, in our drinking water or in foods? Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed an automated analysis meth...