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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: Environmental
by Kate McAlpine
A team of researchers in the Netherlands have devised a trap that can pull carbon dioxide out of the air.
The researchers, led by Elisabeth Bouwman at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry at Leiden University, have developed a selective copper complex - predisposed to capture CO2 and ignore other atmospheric gasses. Equally important, the trapped CO2 can be removed through electrochemistry, requiring a relatively low electrical potential to replace lost electrons.
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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: Environmental
In a striking finding that raises new questions about carbon dioxide’s (CO2) impact on marine life, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists report that some shell-building creatures—such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters—unexpectedly build more shell when exposed to ocean acidification caused by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
Because excess CO2 dissolves in the ocean—causing it to “acidify” —researchers have been concerned about the ability of certain organisms to maintain the strength of their shells. Carbon dioxide is known to trigger a process that reduces the abundance of carbonate ions in seawater—one of the primary materials that marine organisms use to build their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons.
Read more: News Release : In CO2-Rich Environment, Some Ocean Dwellers Increase Shell Production
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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: General
by David L. Chandler
Computational approach to materials science could bring new properties even to familiar substances such as concrete and steel
A company that makes steel for bearings used in heavy trucks had a big problem. The trucks travel through harsh, perilous environments such as Siberia, and an unexpected bearing failure on a remote stretch could literally put the driver's life in danger. Knowing how long the steel would hold up under those conditions was beyond their ability to predict experimentally, so they turned to specialists at MIT.
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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: Environmental
by Simon Hadlington
Scientists from Germany and Israel have caught a fleeting glimpse of carbonic acid, the simple yet elusive molecule that plays a key role in nature, from regulating the pH of blood to mediating crucial events in the global carbon cycle. And it appears that the acid is not as weak as the textbooks would have us believe.
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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: Organic
by Simon Hadlington
Along with the usual mix of teabags, banana skins and egg shells, compost bins of the future could contain biodegradable electronic circuits, according to researchers in the US. The electronic components could also be made biocompatible, so they could be implanted into the body for a short period of time before being broken down and absorbed without the need for a second operation to remove the implant. Such devices could include electronically activated drug-release systems or temporary biosensors, for example.
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- Parent Category: Chemistry
- Category: Medicinal
by Simon Hadlington
Researchers in the Czech Republic have shown that an unusual class of boron-containing compound can inhibit HIV protease, a key enzyme involved in replicating the virus that causes Aids. The finding is potentially signficant because the compounds - metallacarboranes - attack the enzyme in a different way to most existing drugs and could help overcome problems of resistance.