Nanometre-thin films can be deposited using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). This example shows the ALD chemistry for producing HfO2 from gaseous precursors HfCl4 (Cl=green) and H2O (O=red). ALD allows a uniform coating to be applied to complex objects — such as the inside of the fibre optic cable shown here.
Category: chemistry – Page 60
Selective Glycan Labeling of Mannose-Containing Glycolipids in MycobacteriaClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
An interesting article where Lee et al. develop a new chemical label for studying the dynamics of select glycolipids found in tuberculosis bacteria. They target specific types of glycolipids that are involved in pathogenesis, opening the door to new insights on tuberculosis. As tuberculosis kills more than a million people every year, tools for studying the disease are sorely needed. #chemicalbiology #chemistry #microbiology
Supercritical water’s structure decoded: Analysis finds no molecular clusters, just fleeting bonds
Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have shed light on the structure of supercritical water. In this state, which exists at extreme temperatures and pressures, water has the properties of both a liquid and a gas at the same time. According to one theory, the water molecules form clusters, within which they are then connected by hydrogen bonds.
The Bochum-based team has now disproven this hypothesis using a combination of terahertz spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. The results are published in the journal Science Advances.
The experimentalists Dr. Katja Mauelshagen, Dr. Gerhard Schwaab and Professor Martina Havenith from the Chair of Physical Chemistry II collaborated with Dr. Philipp Schienbein and Professor Dominik Marx from the Chair of Theoretical Chemistry.
Machine learning enables customized plastics that could reduce environmental impact
About 100 million metric tons of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the world’s most commonly used plastics, are produced annually, using more than 15 times the energy needed to power New York City for a year and adding enormous amounts of plastic waste to landfills and oceans.
Cornell chemistry researchers have found ways to reduce the environmental impact of this ubiquitous polymer —found in milk jugs, shampoo bottles, playground equipment and many other things—by developing a machine-learning model that enables manufacturers to customize and improve HDPE materials, decreasing the amount of material needed for various applications. It can also be used to boost the quality of recycled HDPE to rival new, making recycling a more practical process.
“Implementation of this approach will facilitate the design of next-generation commodity materials and enable more efficient polymer recycling, lowering the overall impact of HDPE on the environment,” said Robert DiStasio Jr., associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S).
Quantum behaviour in brain neurons looks theoretically possible
A new study probing quantum phenomena in neurons as they transmit messages in the brain could provide fresh insight into how our brains function.
In this project, described in the Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, theoretical physicist Partha Ghose from the Tagore Centre for Natural Sciences and Philosophy in India, together with theoretical neuroscientist Dimitris Pinotsis from City St George’s, University of London and the MillerLab of MIT, proved that established equations describing the classical physics of brain responses are mathematically equivalent to equations describing quantum mechanics. Ghose and Pinotsis then derived a Schrödinger-like equation specifically for neurons.
Our brains process information via a vast network containing many millions of neurons, which can each send and receive chemical and electrical signals. Information is transmitted by nerve impulses that pass from one neuron to the next, thanks to a flow of ions across the neuron’s cell membrane. This results in an experimentally detectable change in electrical potential difference across the membrane known as the “action potential” or “spike”
Towards Quantum-Chemical Level Calculations of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Variants of Concern by First Principles Density Functional Theory
📝 — Ching, et al.
Full text is available 👇
The spike protein (S-protein) is a crucial part of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with its many domains responsible for binding, fusion, and host cell entry. In this review we use the density functional theory (DFT) calculations to analyze the atomic-scale interactions and investigate the consequences of mutations in S-protein domains. We specifically describe the key amino acids and functions of each domain, which are essential for structural stability as well as recognition and fusion processes with the host cell; in addition, we speculate on how mutations affect these properties.
As chips race spews ‘forever chemicals,’ startups emerge to destroy them
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips. But the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It’s a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems.
Global chip sales surged more than 19% to roughly $628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again in 2025. That’s adding urgency to reducing the impacts of so-called “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the U.S. and Europe who are beginning to enforce pollution limits for municipal water supplies. In response to this growing demand, a wave of startups are offering potential solutions that won’t cut the chemicals out of the supply chain but can destroy them.
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been detected in every corner of the planet from rainwater in the Himalayas to whales off the Faroe Islands and in the blood of almost every human tested. Known as forever chemicals because the properties that make them so useful also make them persistent in the environment, scientists have increasingly linked PFAS to health issues including obesity, infertility and cancer.
James Fodor — Exploring the Frontiers of Computational Neuroscience
James Fodor discusses what he is researching, mind uploading etc.
As of 2020, James Fodor, is a student at the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia. James’ studies at university have been rather diverse, and have at different times included history, politics, economics, philosophy, mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology. Eventually he hopes to complete a PhD in the field of computational neuroscience.
James also have a deep interest in philosophy, history, and religion, which he periodically writes about on his blog, which is called The Godless Theist. In addition, James also has interests in and varying levels of involved in skeptical/atheist activism, effective altruism, and transhumanism/emerging technologies. James is a fan of most things sci-fi, including Star Trek, Dr Who, and authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.
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