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Categories: Chemistry: General, Offbeat: Space
Published Deconstructing tough, woody lignin
(via sciencedaily.com) It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. In this case, the 'job' is the breakdown of lignin, the structural biopolymer that gives stems, bark and branches their signature woodiness. One of the most abundant terrestrial polymers on Earth, lignin surrounds valuable plant fibers and other molecules that could be converted into biofuels and other commodity chemicals -- if we could only get past that rigid plant cell wall.
Published New biosensor reveals activity of elusive metal that's essential for life
(via sciencedaily.com) A new biosensor offers scientists the first dynamic glimpses of manganese, an elusive metal ion that is essential for life.
Published SCENTinel 1.1, second iteration of Monell's rapid smell test, discriminates between smell loss and smell distortions
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team showed that the smell test SCENTinel 1.1 can successfully discriminate between different types of smell disorders. SCENTinel 1.1 can rapidly identify parosmia, the distorted perception of odors.
Published Viable superconducting material created, say researchers
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers report the creation of a superconducting material at both a temperature and pressure low enough for practical applications. In a new paper, the researchers describe a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride that exhibits superconductivity at 69 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 kilobars (145,000 pounds per square inch, or psi) of pressure.
Published ALMA traces history of water in planet formation back to the interstellar medium
(via sciencedaily.com) Observations of water in the disk forming around protostar V883 Ori have unlocked clues about the formation of comets and planetesimals in our own solar system.
Published Enhancing at-home COVID tests with glow-in-the dark materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers are using glow-in-the-dark materials to enhance and improve rapid COVID-19 home tests.
Published The planet that could end life on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) A terrestrial planet hovering between Mars and Jupiter would be able to push Earth out of the solar system and wipe out life on this planet, according to a recent experiment.
Published Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have mapped the sparse life hidden away in salt domes, rocks and crystals at Salar de Pajonales at the boundary of the Chilean Atacama Desert and Altiplano. Then they trained a machine learning model to recognize the patterns and rules associated with their distributions so it could learn to predict and find those same distributions in data on which it was not trained. In this case, by combining statistical ecology with AI/ML, the scientists could locate and detect biosignatures up to 87.5 percent of the time and decrease the area needed for search by up to 97 percent.
Published An innovative twist on quantum bits: Tubular nanomaterial of carbon makes ideal home for spinning quantum bits
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists develop method for chemically modifying nanoscale tubes of carbon atoms, so they can host spinning electrons to serve as stable quantum bits in quantum technologies.
Published Catalyst purifies herbicide-tainted water and produces hydrogen
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a dual-purpose catalyst that purifies herbicide-tainted water while also producing hydrogen.
Published Extreme fast charging capability in lithium-ion batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Lithium-ion batteries dominate among energy storage devices and are the battery of choice for the electric vehicle industry. Improving battery performance is a constant impetus to current research in this field. Towards this end, a group of researchers has synthesized a lithium borate-type aqueous polyelectrolyte binder for graphite anodes. Their new binder helped improve Li-ion diffusion and lower impedance compared to conventional batteries.
Published Resurrected supernova provides missing link
(via sciencedaily.com) Astronomers have discovered a supernova exhibiting unprecedented rebrightening at millimeter wavelengths, providing an intermediate case between two types of supernovae: those of solitary stars and those in close-binary systems.
Published Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumb trick inspires robotic exploration of caves on Mars and beyond
(via sciencedaily.com) Future space missions likely will send robots to scout out underground habitats for astronauts. Engineers have now developed a system that would enable autonomous vehicles to explore caves, lava tubes and even oceans on other worlds on their own.
Published Ultracool dwarf binary stars break records
(via sciencedaily.com) Astrophysicists have discovered the tightest ultracool dwarf binary system ever observed. The two stars are so close that it takes them less than one Earth day to revolve around each other. In other words, each star's 'year' lasts just 17 hours.
Published Coral-friendly sunscreen provides better UV protection than existing options
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a prototype for coral-reef-friendly sunscreens by using polymerization to create large molecules that still block UV radiation but are too big to penetrate our skin, coral, and algae. The polymeric UV filter was more effective at preventing sunburn in mice than existing sunscreens.
Published Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling
(via sciencedaily.com) Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.
Published New study could help pinpoint hidden helium gas fields -- and avert a global supply crisis
(via sciencedaily.com) Helium -- essential for many medical and industrial processes -- is in critically short supply worldwide. Production is also associated with significant carbon emissions, contributing to climate change. This study provides a new concept in gas field formation to explain why, in rare places, helium accumulates naturally in high concentrations just beneath the Earth's surface. The findings could help locate new reservoirs of carbon-free helium -- and potentially also hydrogen.
Published Sustainable process for the production of vanillin from lignin makes further progress
(via sciencedaily.com) The demand for vanillin vastly outstrips the natural resources of this flavoring agent. A chemical process is thus used to produce the required large quantities of vanillin from petroleum, which is far less expensive than obtaining the substance from fermented genuine vanilla pods. Another alternative is to make vanillin from lignin, a waste product of the wood pulping industry. A team has now managed to further enhance their method of electrochemical production of vanillin from lignin in that they employ a 'green' oxidation method for this purpose.
Published Scientists synthesize cerium mineral which holds promise for biomedical research
(via sciencedaily.com) Geoscientists have developed a cheap and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of cerianite, a rare earth mineral which holds promise for the treatment of diseases associated with inflammation, including cancer.
Published Degrading modified proteins could treat Alzheimer's, other 'undruggable' diseases
(via sciencedaily.com) Certain diseases, including Alzheimer's, are currently considered 'undruggable' because traditional small molecule drugs can't interfere with the proteins responsible for the illnesses. But a new technique that specifically targets and breaks apart certain proteins -- rather than just interfering with them -- may offer a pathway toward treatment. Researchers have now designed a compound that targets and breaks down a post-translationally modified protein closely associated with Alzheimer's disease.