Chemistry

Chemistry

Cats chewing on catnip boosts the plant’s insect-repelling powers

When cats tear up catnip, it increases the amount of insect-repelling chemicals released by the plants.

Chemistry

A pigment’s shift in chemistry robbed a painted yellow rose of its brilliance

The degradation of an arsenic-based paint stripped shadows and light from a still life flower in a 17th century work by painter Abraham Mignon.

Ecosystems

Just 3 ingredients can quickly destroy widely used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down enduring PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other UV-based methods.

Chemistry

Scientists made a Möbius strip out of a tiny carbon nanobelt

A twisted belt of carbon atoms joins carbon nanotubes and buckyballs in the list of carbon structures scientists can create.

Agriculture

Oat and soy milks are planet friendly, but not as nutritious as cow milk

Plant-based milks are better for the environment, but nutrition-wise they fall behind cow milk.

Chemistry

Grainy ice cream is unpleasant. Plant-based nanocrystals might help

The growth of large ice crystals in ice cream produces a coarse texture. A cellulose nanocrystal stabilizer could help keep the unwelcome iciness away.

Climate

Smoke from Australia’s intense fires in 2019 and 2020 damaged the ozone layer

Massive fires like those that raged in Australia in 2019–2020 can eat away at Earth’s protective ozone layer, researchers find.

Chemistry

Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost

Marie Maynard Daly was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry, but her own perspective on her research is missing from the historical record.

Chemistry

One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death

The bones of more than 100 cadavers are shedding light on a more precise and reliable way to determine when someone died.

Chemistry

A disinfectant made from sawdust mows down deadly microbes

Antimicrobial molecules found in wood waste could be used to make more sustainable, greener disinfectants.

Planetary Science

Oxygen-rich exoplanets may be geologically active

Experiments show that rocks exposed to higher concentrations of oxygen have a lower melting temperature than rocks exposed to lower amounts.

Climate

Wildfire smoke may ramp up toxic ozone production in cities

A new study reveals how wildfire smoke produces toxic ozone and how urban air pollution could exacerbate the problem.