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Archive for the ‘chemistry’ category: Page 172

Jun 15, 2022

The Pathology of Experimental Aerosolized Monkeypox Virus Infection in Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

All monkeys appeared clinically normal on Day 0 of the study. Monkeys began to show evidence of exanthema, enanthema, mild anorexia, fever, cough, and nasal discharge on Days 6 and 7 postexposure. Dyspnea, noted as early as Day 8 postexposure, was evident in all animals by Day 10. By Days 9 and 10, all animals had exanthema and enanthema, were depressed and severely anorectic, and showed signs of weakness. Clinical signs progressed until the animals died naturally or were killed 9 to 17 days postexposure (mean 11.7 days). There was no correlation of inhaled dose to survival time. Leukocytosis (absolute and relative monocytosis) developed with the onset of clinical signs on Day 6. There were no trends detected in clinical chemistry data. Virus was first isolated from buffy coat cells of one of eight animals tested on Day 6. Nine of 11 animals were positive on Day 9, and 2 of 7 remained positive on Days 12 or 13. There was no cell-free viremia detected at any time.

Principal gross necropsy findings are presented in Table 1. All deaths were attributed to bronchopneumonia, although secondary bacterial septicemia was considered to be a contributing factor in one animal. Lungs were heavy and congested and failed to collapse. A dark red, lobular, mottled pattern of edema, atelectasis, and necrosis was distributed throughout all lung lobes (Fig. 1A). Occasionally, there was fibrinous pleuritis with pleural adhesions and multifocal, white, plaque-like thickenings of the visceral pleura. We observed a clear pericardial effusion in two monkeys.

Dermatitis, present in all monkeys, varied from barely detectable, single, small papules to extensive involvement primarily affecting the inguinal, ventral abdominal, ventral thoracic, perineal, and facial regions (Fig. 1, B and C). Palmar surfaces of the hands and plantar surfaces of the feet were only occasionally involved. The extent of involvement and the stage of skin lesion development noted at necropsy exhibited a positive correlation with the number of days elapsed since initial onset of the lesions was noted clinically. In animals necropsied 1 to 2 days after onset of exanthema, lesions were generally minimal in extent and were in the papular stage, appearing as pale tan to white, slightly raised foci, 2 to 4 mm in diameter. At 3 to 5 days post onset, lesion distribution was characterized as mild. Papules were accompanied by 1 to 2 mm vesicles. Vesicle formation, however, was not prominent grossly.

Jun 15, 2022

A weird star produced the fastest nova on record

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, space

Astronomers are buzzing after observing the fastest nova ever recorded. The unusual event drew scientists’ attention to an even more unusual star. As they study it, they may find answers to not only the nova’s many baffling traits, but to larger questions about the chemistry of our solar system, the death of stars and the evolution of the universe.

The research team, led by Arizona State University Regents Professor Sumner Starrfield, Professor Charles Woodward from University of Minnesota and Research Scientist Mark Wagner from The Ohio State University, co-authored a report published today in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

A is a sudden explosion of bright light from a two-star system. Every nova is created by a white dwarf—the very dense leftover core of a star—and a nearby companion star. Over time, the white dwarf draws matter from its companion, which falls onto the white dwarf. The white dwarf heats this material, causing an uncontrolled reaction that releases a burst of energy. The explosion shoots the matter away at high speeds, which we observe as .

Jun 15, 2022

This Collaboration Will Use Quantum Computing To Make Manufacturing More Sustainable

Posted by in categories: chemistry, computing, quantum physics, sustainability

German industrial manufacturer Covestro aims to develop software with QC Ware that would use quantum computing to create more efficient chemical reactions and better materials.

Jun 14, 2022

UV light may be ripe to replace chemicals in fungus fight

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Circa 2019


Thanks to research led by Cornell AgriTech’s David Gadoury, farmers may no longer have to rely on fungicides to control powdery mildew, a rampant plant fungal disease.

Jun 13, 2022

Closed-loop additive manufacturing fueled by upcycled plastic

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, chemistry, transportation

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.

Results published in Science Advances detail the simple process for upcycling a commodity plastic into a more robust material compatible with industry 3D-printing methods.

The team upgraded , or ABS, a popular thermoplastic found in everyday objects ranging from auto parts to tennis balls to LEGO blocks. ABS is a popular feedstock for fused filament fabrication, or FFF, one of the most widely used 3D-printing methods. The upcycled version boasts enhanced strength, toughness and chemical resistance, making it attractive for FFF to meet new and higher performance applications not achievable with standard ABS.

Jun 13, 2022

Tracing the remnants of Andromeda’s violent history

Posted by in categories: chemistry, evolution, space

A detailed analysis of the composition and motion of more than 500 stars has revealed conclusive evidence of an ancient collision between Andromeda and a neighboring galaxy. The findings, which improve our understanding of the events that shape galaxy evolution, were presented by Carnegie’s Ivanna Escala Monday at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Galaxies grow by accreting material from nearby objects—other galaxies and dense clumps of stars called —often in the aftermath of a catastrophic crash. And these events leave behind relics in the form of stellar associations that astronomers call tidal features. This can include elongated streams or arcing shells moving around the surviving galaxy. Studying these phenomena can help us understand a galaxy’s history and the forces that shaped its appearance and makeup.

“The remnants of each crash can be identified by studying the movement of the stars and their chemical compositions. Together this information serves as a kind of fingerprint that identifies stars that joined a galaxy in a collision,” Escala explained.

Jun 13, 2022

Boost NAD, Reprogramme Our Cells to be Young Again | Dr David Sinclair Interview Clips

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, education, genetics, life extension

David Sinclair shares another side of himself. Compassion for all people. He wants to make sure that longevity technologies are available for all people, not just for the super wealthy and their pets. He also speaks of emerging elderly populations who can live well up until death rather than suffering for so long, and instead start new careers and hobbies.


Researchers have restored vision in animal by resetting some of the thousands of chemical marks that accumulate on DNA as cells age. The work, by Dr David Sinclair Lab, published in Nature Dec 2020, suggests a new approach to reversing age-related decline, by reprogramming some cells to a ‘younger’ state in which they are better able to repair or replace damaged tissue.

Continue reading “Boost NAD, Reprogramme Our Cells to be Young Again | Dr David Sinclair Interview Clips” »

Jun 13, 2022

Gaia telescope’s new map of the Milky Way will let us rewind time

Posted by in categories: chemistry, space

Our map of the Milky Way has been upgraded and it now lets us rewind the paths of stars to look back in time. The data set that enables this, released by the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Gaia space telescope, includes the detailed chemical make-up and speeds of almost 2 billion stars.

Jun 12, 2022

New electrocatalyst offers hope for less expensive hydrogen fuel

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, sustainability

There are a handful of ways to produce hydrogen fuel without emitting carbon into Earth’s atmosphere. One involves using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

This method, known as electrolysis, requires a catalyst that speeds up that occur within cells.

More often than not, this electrocatalyst is platinum, a metal so rare that it’s typically more expensive than gold, which makes the more costly than traditional sources of renewable energy and fossil fuels.

Jun 12, 2022

New Class of Atom Cooled to Near Absolute Zero

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics, quantum physics

Researchers have cooled indium atoms to a temperature close to 1 mK, making indium the first group-III atom to be made ultracold.

At temperatures near to absolute zero, atoms move slower than a three-toed sloth, allowing physicists to gain unprecedented experimental control over these systems. New phases of matter can form when atoms become ultracold and quirky quantum properties can emerge, yet much of the periodic table remains unexplored in the ultracold regime. Now, Travis Nicholson of the National University of Singapore and colleagues have successfully cooled indium to close to 1 mK [1]. Indium is the first “main group-III” atom—a specific group of transition metals on the periodic table—to be cooled to such a low temperature. The demonstration opens the door to studying systems with properties previously unexplored by ultracold physicists.

For their experiments, Nicholson and colleagues used a magneto-optical trap—a standard tool for trapping and cooling atoms. But because this was the first attempt at making indium atoms ultracold, the team had to make their own version of the apparatus rather than using one designed to cool other atoms. “The systems used for this research are highly customized to specific atoms,” Nicholson says. So every part of the setup from designing the laser systems to picking the screws had to be “hashed out by us.” With their custom setup, the group loaded 500,000,000 indium atoms into the trap using a laser beam and then cooled them.