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Category: chemistry – Page 41

Water might be older than we first thought, forming a key constituent of the first galaxies

Water may have first formed 100–200 million years after the Big Bang, according to a modeling paper published in Nature Astronomy. The authors suggest that the formation of water may have occurred in the universe earlier than previously thought and may have been a key constituent of the first galaxies.

Water is crucial for life as we know it, and its components—hydrogen and oxygen—are known to have formed in different ways. Lighter chemical elements such as hydrogen, helium and were forged in the Big Bang, but heavier elements, such as oxygen, are the result of nuclear reactions within or supernova explosions. As such, it is unclear when water began to form in the universe.

Researcher Daniel Whalen and colleagues utilized computer models of two supernovae—the first for a star 13 times the and the second for a star 200 times the mass of the sun—to analyze the products of these explosions. They found that 0.051 and 55 (where one solar mass is the mass of our sun) of oxygen were created in the first and second , respectively, due to the very high temperatures and densities reached.

Nanoscale material illuminates cancer cells in freezing conditions for precise cryosurgery

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) have developed an innovative tool that enhances surgeons’ ability to detect and remove cancer cells during cryosurgery, a procedure that uses extreme cold to destroy tumors. This breakthrough technology involves a specialized nanoscale material that illuminates cancer cells under freezing conditions, making them easier to distinguish from healthy tissue and improving surgical precision.

Detailed in the study “Freezing-Activated Covalent Organic Frameworks for Precise Fluorescence Cryo-Imaging of Cancer Tissue” in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Trabolsi research group at NYUAD designed a unique nanoscale covalent organic framework (nTG-DFP-COF) that responds to by increasing its fluorescence. This makes it possible to clearly differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissues during surgery.

The material, prepared by Gobinda Das, Ph.D., a researcher in the Trabolsi Research Group at NYUAD, is engineered to be biocompatible and low in toxicity, ensuring it interacts safely within the body. Importantly, it maintains its fluorescent properties even in the presence of ice crystals inside cells, allowing monitoring during cryosurgery.

Scientists Spent 20 Years on This Platinum Mystery and Finally Solved It

For years, scientists were baffled by a peculiar problem: why do platinum electrodes, usually stable, corrode so quickly in electrochemical devices? A collaboration between SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Leiden University cracked the case by using cutting-edge X-ray techniques.

They found that platinum hydrides, not sodium ions as once suspected, were responsible for the degradation. This discovery could revolutionize hydrogen production and electrochemical sensor durability, potentially slashing costs and improving efficiency.

Unraveling a Costly Mystery.

New Methane Flare Tech: Efficiency Plus Combustion Stability

“A good ratio of oxygen to methane is key to combustion,” said Justin Long.

Can methane flare burners be advanced to produce less methane? This is what a recent study published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research hopes to address as a team of researchers from the University of Michigan (U-M) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) developed a methane flare burner with increased combustion stability and efficiency compared to traditional methane flare burners. This study has the potential to develop more environmentally friendly burners to combat human-caused climate change, specifically since methane is a far larger contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide.

For the study, the researchers used a combination of machine learning and novel manufacturing methods to test several designs of a methane flare burner that incorporates crosswinds to simulate real-world environments. The burner design includes splitting the methane flow in three directions while enabling oxygen flow from crosswinds to mix with the methane, enabling a much cleaner combustion. In the end, the researchers found that their design achieves 98 percent combustion efficiency, meaning it produces 98 percent less methane than traditional burners.

“A good ratio of oxygen to methane is key to combustion,” said Justin Long, who is a Senior Research Engineer at SwRI. “The surrounding air needs to be captured and incorporated to mix with the methane, but too much can dilute it. U-M researchers conducted a lot of computational fluid dynamics work to find a design with an optimal air-methane balance, even when subjected to high-crosswind conditions.”

Deep Inside Earth, Two Giant Mantle Structures Rewrite Geological History

Researchers have typically assumed that both LLVPs are similar to each other in nature, e.g. chemical composition and age, because seismic waves travel through them in similar ways. But a new study, co-authored by Dr. Paula Koelemeijer (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford), has challenged this view by modelling the formation of the LLVPs through time.

By combining a model of mantle convection, including a reconstruction of how tectonic plates have moved over the Earth’s surface over the last billion years, the study has been able to show that the African LLVP consists of older and better mixed material than the Pacific LLVP, which contains 50% more and younger subducted oceanic crust (and therefore is more different to the surrounding mantle). The resulting differences in density could also explain why the African LLVP is more diffuse and taller than its Pacific counterpart.

Microwaves Unlock a Faster, Cleaner Way to Recycle Bulletproof Kevlar

Aramid fibers like Kevlar and Twaron are incredibly strong but notoriously difficult to recycle — until now.

Researchers have pioneered a microwave-assisted chemical process that efficiently breaks down aramid polymers without the need for harsh solvents. Unlike traditional methods that are slow and require extreme conditions, this technique achieves a 96% conversion in just 15 minutes.

Revolutionizing Aramid Recycling

Move Over Smart Rings. MIT’s New Fabric Computer Is Stitched Into Your Clothes

That’s what prompted MIT engineers to create a fabric computer that can be stitched into regular clothes. The device features sensors, processors, memory, batteries, and both optical and Bluetooth communications, allowing networks of these fibers to provide sophisticated whole-body monitoring.

“Our bodies broadcast gigabytes of data through the skin every second in the form of heat, sound, biochemicals, electrical potentials, and light, all of which carry information about our activities, emotions, and health,” MIT professor Yoel Fink, who led the research, said in a press release.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could teach clothes to capture, analyze, store, and communicate this important information in the form of valuable health and activity insights?”

Scientists Find Never-Before-Seen Fat Cell Types That May Hold the Key to Fighting Obesity

A groundbreaking international study, led by scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, has mapped the diverse populations of fat cells across different human fat tissues. Using advanced technology, researchers identified distinct subpopulations of fat cells with more complex functions than previously understood. They also discovered variations in how fat tissues communicate at the cellular level.

Published in Nature Genetics, these findings lay the foundation for future research aimed at advancing personalized medicine for obesity.

The research team, led by Prof. Esti Yeger-Lotem and Prof. Assaf Rudich from the Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in collaboration with Prof. Naomi Habib from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Profs. Matthias Bluher, Antje Korner and Martin Gericke from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and Prof. Rinki Murphy from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, studied the diversity of fat cells in subcutaneous and intra-abdominal (visceral) fat tissues in humans.

New device could allow you to taste a cake in virtual reality

Novel technology intends to redefine the virtual reality experience by expanding to incorporate a new sensory connection: taste.

The interface, dubbed “e-Taste,” uses a combination of sensors and wireless chemical dispensers to facilitate the remote perception of —what scientists call gustation. These sensors are attuned to recognize molecules like glucose and glutamate—chemicals that represent the five basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Once captured via an , that data is wirelessly passed to a remote device for replication.

Field testing done by researchers at The Ohio State University confirmed the device’s ability to digitally simulate a range of taste intensities, while still offering variety and safety for the user.

Harnessing gravity to create a low-cost microfluidic device for rapid cell analysis

A team of researchers at the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing at Rice University has developed an innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled, low-cost device that will make flow cytometry—a technique used to analyze cells or particles in a fluid using a laser beam—affordable and accessible.

The prototype identifies and counts cells from unpurified blood samples with similar accuracy as the more expensive and bulky conventional flow cytometers, provides results within minutes and is significantly cheaper and compact, making it highly attractive for point-of-care clinical applications, particularly in low-resource and rural areas.

Peter Lillehoj, the Leonard and Mary Elizabeth Shankle Associate Professor of Bioengineering, and Kevin McHugh, assistant professor of bioengineering and chemistry, led the development of this new device. The study was published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.