A disinfectant made from sawdust mows down deadly microbes
A new, sustainable disinfectant made from sawdust and water can knock out more than 99 percent of some disease-causing microbes, including anthrax and several strains…
A new, sustainable disinfectant made from sawdust and water can knock out more than 99 percent of some disease-causing microbes, including anthrax and several strains…
Humble oxygen is more than just a building block of life. The element could also help scientists sneak a peek into the innards of planets…
Wildfire smoke and urban air pollution bring out the worst in each other. As wildfires rage, they transform their burned fuel into a complex chemical…
Scientists have finally sniffed out the molecules behind marijuana’s skunky aroma. The heady bouquet that wafts off of fresh weed is actually a cocktail of…
All that glitters is not green. Glitter and shimmery pigments are often made using toxic compounds or pollutive microplastics (SN: 4/15/19). That makes the sparkly…
Lithium-ion batteries with recycled cathodes can outperform batteries with cathodes made from pristine materials, lasting for thousands of additional charging cycles, a study finds. Growing…
Making molecules is hard work. Atoms must be stitched together into specific arrangements through a series of chemical reactions that are often slow, convoluted and…
In a world torn apart by the French Revolution, doomed Queen Marie Antoinette exchanged secret letters with a rumored lover. Someone later censored them —…
When Mexican scientist Luis Miramontes signed his lab notebook on October 15, 1951, he didn’t know he was documenting history. That day, he made a…
Sea life’s chemical senses Science News, September 18, 1971 For fish and other underwater life, a sensitivity to chemicals plays the same role as the…
Glossy, velvety chocolate that snaps in the fingers and melts in the mouth is the chocolatier’s dream. But crafting cocoa confections with this optimal texture…
This plastic will self-destruct — Science News, August 7, 1971 Public indignation over litter and garbage has caused industry to ask chemists whether self-destroying, or quickly…
A new chemical analysis has revealed an ugly truth about beauty products: Many may contain highly persistent, potentially harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS. PFAS, short…
Turning a bacterial defense mechanism into one of the most powerful tools in genetics has earned Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier the Nobel Prize in…
About seven years ago, Kristin and Josh Mohagen were honeymooning in Napa Valley in California, when they smelled something surprising in their glasses of Cabernet…
A robot beetle goes the distance on its own thanks to a methanol-fueled micromuscle. Scientists envision that swarms of robotic insects could assist search-and-rescue operations…
Just how hot is your chili pepper? A new chili-shaped device could quickly signal whether adding the pepper to a meal might set your mouth…
A few minutes in the microwave made a common insecticide about 10 times more lethal to mosquitoes in lab experiments. The toxin deltamethrin is used…
Amino acids in a meteorite — Science News, December 5, 1970 [Researchers] present evidence for the presence of amino acids of possible extraterrestrial origin in…
Supercooled water is two of a kind, a new study shows. Scientists have long suspected that water at subfreezing temperatures comes in two distinct varieties:…
Chemistry students the world over are familiar with covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds. Now a study has revealed a strange variety of bond that acts…
Zinc-air batteries have a lot going for them. They’re lightweight, compact and made of more sustainable, less flammable materials than other batteries. But they’re usually…
In August, a massive wildfire tore through the San Lorenzo Valley north of Santa Cruz, Calif., destroying almost 1,500 structures and exposing many others to…
Today, airplanes pump a lot of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But someday, carbon dioxide sucked from the atmosphere could be used to power…
For decades, scientists quested after a room-temperature superconductor. Now that they’ve finally found one, the hunt is on for an even better material. Until last…
One key ingredient for life thought to be delivered to Earth by meteorites may have been homemade after all. The phosphorus that went into building…
Quantum bits made from “designer molecules” are coming into fashion. By carefully tailoring the composition of molecules, researchers are creating chemical systems suited to a…
It feels good to recycle. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from dutifully sorting soda bottles, plastic bags and yogurt cups from the…
Thirteen-year-old Noah Shaw loves planets and has perfect pitch. He wants to be a scientist like his father Bryan Shaw, a biochemist at Baylor University…
Chances are, most — if not all — of the produce in your kitchen is threatened by fungal diseases. The threat looms large for food…
Lightning could play an important role in flushing pollutants out of the atmosphere. Observations from a storm-chasing airplane reveal that lightning can forge lots of…
A pinch of polymer-munching enzymes could make biodegradable plastic packaging and forks truly compostable. With moderate heat, enzyme-laced films of the plastic disintegrated in standard…
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