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Phys.org / Water molecules actively reshape chiral catalyst structure, research shows
Researchers have analyzed the stepwise hydration of prolinol, a molecule widely used as a catalyst and as a building block in chemical synthesis. The study shows that just a few water molecules can completely change the preferred ...
Phys.org / Engineered enzymes enable greener one-pot amide synthesis for drug manufacturing
A single type of chemical structure that shows up again and again in modern medicine is the amide bond that links a carbonyl group (C=O) to a nitrogen atom. They're so ubiquitous that 117 of the top 200 small-molecule drugs ...
Phys.org / In Antarctica, balloon lands after 23-day search for particles from outer space
After years of work building an exquisitely sensitive instrument, University of Chicago scientists stood and watched as it flew up and out of sight into the fiercely blue Antarctic sky. Launched on Dec. 20, it would travel ...
Phys.org / Crystals in a new light: Research team proposes rethinking crystal structure analysis
Every crystal's shape is a mirror of the internal arrangement of its molecules, but the molecules in photoswitchable crystals can expand, twist and change properties—from their color to their electronic conductivity—with ...
Medical Xpress / Stimulating the central thalamus during anesthesia sheds light on neural basis of consciousness
The brains of mammals continuously combine signals originating from different regions to produce various sensations, emotions, thoughts and behaviors. This process, known as information integration, is what allows brain regions ...
Phys.org / When you do the math, humans still rule
Artificial intelligence has attained an impressive series of feats—solving problems from the International Math Olympiad, conducting encyclopedic surveys of academic literature, and even finding solutions to some longstanding ...
Phys.org / Could electronic beams in the ionosphere remove space junk?
A possible alternative to active debris removal (ADR) by laser is ablative propulsion by a remotely transmitted electron beam (e-beam). The e-beam ablation has been widely used in industries, and it might provide higher overall ...
Phys.org / Why snakes can go months between meals: A genetic explanation
Snakes may well be one of nature's greatest predators, capable of eating whole deer or even crocodiles, but just as impressive is that they can go months, or even a whole year, without a single meal. And now an international ...
Phys.org / Light-based Ising computer runs at room temperature and stays stable for hours
A team of researchers at Queen's University has developed a powerful new kind of computing machine that uses light to take on complex problems such as protein folding (for drug discovery) and number partitioning (for cryptography). ...
Phys.org / Modulated UV-C light increases the shelf life of guavas, study shows
The application of modulated UV-C light to guavas—emitted in pulses or cycles rather than continuously—combated anthracnose. This fungal disease is caused by microorganisms belonging to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ...
Phys.org / Chemistry isn't always essential for order: How simple geometry gives rise to complex materials
Utrecht University researchers Rodolfo Subert and Marjolein Dijkstra show in their latest study that complex three-dimensional networks in materials can emerge from nothing more than particle shape. In Nature Communications ...
Medical Xpress / Researchers find brain mechanism behind 'flashes of intuition'
Despite decades of research, the mechanisms behind fast flashes of insight that change how a person perceives their world, termed "one-shot learning," have remained unknown. A mysterious type of one-shot learning is perceptual ...