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Category: chemistry – Page 7

Individual atoms tracked during real-time chemical bond formation

Researchers at European XFEL in Germany have tracked in real time the movement of individual atoms during a chemical reaction in the gas phase. Using extremely short X-ray flashes, they were able to observe the formation of an iodine molecule (I₂) after irradiating diiodomethane (CH₂I₂) molecules by infrared light, which involves breaking two bonds and forming a new one.

At the same time, they were able to distinguish this reaction from two other reaction pathways, namely the separation of a single iodine atom from the diiodomethane, or the excitation of bending vibrations in the bound molecule. The results, published in Nature Communications, provide new insights into fundamental reaction mechanisms that have so far been very difficult to distinguish experimentally.

So-called elimination reactions in which are formed from a larger molecule are central to many chemical processes—from atmospheric chemistry to catalyst research. However, the detailed mechanism of many reactions, in which several atoms break and re-form their bonds, often remains obscure. The reason: The processes take place in incredibly short times—in femtoseconds, or a few millionths of a billionth of a second.

DNA nanostructures can mimic molecular organization of living systems without chemical cross-linking

Newly developed DNA nanostructures can form flexible, fluid, and stimuli-responsive condensates without relying on chemical cross-linking, report researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo and Chuo University, in the journal JACS Au.

Owing to a rigid tetrahedral motif that binds the linkers in a specific direction, the resulting string-like structures form condensates with exceptional fluidity and stability. These findings pave the way for adaptive soft materials with potential applications in drug delivery, artificial organelles, and bioengineering platforms.

Within living cells, certain biomolecules can organize themselves into specialized compartments called biomolecular condensates. These droplet-like structures play crucial roles in cellular functions, such as regulating and ; they essentially represent nature’s clever way of organizing cellular activity without the need for rigid membranes.

AI-Powered Discovery of High-Performance Polymers for Heat Dissipation

In a groundbreaking step forward for polymer science and electronics cooling technology, researchers from Japan have leveraged artificial intelligence to identify a new class of liquid crystalline polyimides with remarkably high thermal conductivity. Their work, recently published in npj Computational Materials, combines data science, chemistry, and machine learning to accelerate the search for next-generation materials capable of efficiently dissipating heat in compact, high-performance electronics.

🔗 Original article on Phys.org

Post-prandial hyperlipidaemia impairs systemic vascular function and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in young and old male adults

Dietary fat is an important part of our diet. It provides us with a concentrated source of energy, transports vitamins and when stored in the body, protects our organs and helps keep us warm. The two main types of fat that we consume are saturated and unsaturated (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated), which are differentiated by their chemical composition.

But these fats have different effects on our body. For example, it is well established that eating a meal that is high in saturated fat, such as that self-indulgent Friday night takeaway pizza, can be bad for our blood vessels and heart health. And these effects are not simply confined to the heart.

The brain has limited energy stores, which means it is heavily reliant on a continuous supply of blood delivering oxygen and glucose to maintain normal function.

One of the ways the body maintains this supply is through a process known as “dynamic cerebral autoregulation”. This process ensures that blood flow to the brain remains stable despite everyday changes in blood pressure, such as standing up and exercising. It’s like having shock absorbers that help keep our brains cool under pressure.

But when this process is impaired, those swings in blood pressure become harder to manage. That can mean brief episodes of too little or too much blood reaching the brain. Over time, this increases the risk of developing conditions like stroke and dementia.

Continue reading “Post-prandial hyperlipidaemia impairs systemic vascular function and dynamic cerebral autoregulation in young and old male adults” | >

Ocean sediments might support theory that comet impact triggered Younger Dryas cool-off

Analysis of ocean sediments has surfaced geochemical clues in line with the possibility that an encounter with a disintegrating comet 12,800 years ago in the Northern Hemisphere triggered rapid cooling of Earth’s air and ocean. Christopher Moore of the University of South Carolina, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the journal PLOS One on August 6, 2025.

During the abrupt cool-off—the Younger Dryas event—temperatures dropped about 10 degrees Celsius in a year or less, with cooler temperatures lasting about 1,200 years. Many researchers believe that no comet was involved, and that caused freshening of the Atlantic Ocean, significantly weakening currents that transport warm, tropical water northward.

In contrast, the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis posits that Earth passed through debris from a disintegrating comet, with numerous impacts and shockwaves destabilizing ice sheets and causing massive meltwater flooding that shut down key ocean currents.

Accelerating anti-aging cyclic peptide discovery through computational design and automated synthesis

Cyclic peptides, with their unique structures and versatile biological activities, hold great potential for combating skin aging issues such as wrinkles, laxity, and pigmentation. However, traditional discovery methods relying on iterative synthesis and screening are labor-intensive and resource-intensive. Here, we present an integrated platform combining automated rapid cyclopeptide synthesis, virtual screening, and biological activity assessment, enabling the transformation of designed cyclic peptide sequences into chemical entities within minutes with high crude purity. Using ADCP docking with the ADFR suite, we identified a series of novel cyclic peptides targeting JAK1, Keap1, and TGF-β proteins.

Anti-neuroinflammatory natural products from isopod-related fungus now accessible via chemical synthesis

“Herpotrichone” is a natural substance that has been evaluated highly for its excellent ability to suppress inflammation in the brain and protect nerve cells, displaying significant potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. This substance could only be obtained in minute quantities from fungi that are symbiotic with isopods. However, KAIST researchers have succeeded in chemically synthesizing this rare natural product, thereby presenting the possibility for the development of next-generation drugs for neurodegenerative diseases.

A research team led by Professor Sunkyu Han of the Department of Chemistry successfully synthesized the natural anti-neuroinflammatory substances ‘herpotrichones A, B, and C’ for the first time. The paper is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Herpotrichone natural products are substances obtainable only in minute quantities from Herpotrichia sp. SF09, a symbiotic pill bug fungus, and possesses a unique 6÷6÷6÷6÷3 pentacyclic framework consisting of five fused rings (four six-membered and one three-membered ring).

Cosmic Rays May Be Fueling Hidden Life on Mars and Beyond

“This discovery changes the way we think about where life might exist,” said Atri. “Instead of looking only for warm planets with sunlight, we can now consider places that are cold and dark, as long as they have some water beneath the surface and are exposed to cosmic rays. Life might be able to survive in more places than we ever imagined.”

The study introduces a new idea called the Radiolytic Habitable Zone. Unlike the traditional “Goldilocks Zone” — the area around a star where a planet could have liquid water on its surface — this new zone focuses on places where water exists underground and can be energized by cosmic radiation. Since cosmic rays are found throughout space, this could mean there are many more places in the universe where life could exist.

The findings provide new guidance for future space missions. Instead of only looking for signs of life on the surface, scientists might also explore underground environments on Mars and the icy moons, using tools that can detect chemical energy created by cosmic radiation.

Experiment Recreates The Universe’s Very First Chemical Reactions

The first chemical reactions in the wake of the Big Bang have been recreated for the first time in conditions similar to those in the baby Universe.

A team of physicists led by Florian Grussie of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Germany has reproduced the reactions of the helium hydride ion (HeH+), a molecule made from a neutral helium atom fusing with an ionized atom of hydrogen.

These are the first steps that lead to the formation of molecular hydrogen (H2), the most abundant molecule in the Universe and the stuff from which stars are born. The new work, therefore, elucidates some of the earliest processes that gave rise to the Universe as we know it today.

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