Cryo-electron microscopy resolution continues to improve.
Veronica Falconieri, Sriram Subramaniam, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health
The 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry goes to three scientists who revolutionized biochemistry by inventing a technology that can image the molecules of life without destroying them.
Schedule 2 narcotics: Morphine Sulfate, OxyContin and Opana.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
How can we fight the opioid epidemic? Redesign the drugs, rethink how we assess patients and mandate prescription monitoring.
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The chemical formula behind your tears.
What can you do to ensure a more perfect brew?
Chris Hendon
The science behind why what your barista achieves at the cafe tastes better than what you can come up with at home.
gabor juhasz/unsplash
Help us put this old wives’ tale to a scientific test.
Are you a food label reader too?
allensima/shutterstock
Processed foods often contain additives with intimidating chemical names or numbers. But many of these are derived from or based on chemicals that are found in nature.
Boron is often ignored, but it’s got a lot of important qualities.
David Ellis/Flickr
Boron is the hidden ingredient in a lot of our technology. Get to know this plucky little element.
Assessing the data.
LightField Studios/shutterstock.com
Evidence suggests that some chemicals can affect our bodies – even in very low doses. How can we better identify and act on these toxic materials?
Isolated MoS₂ monolayer.
Andrew Beckinsale
New materials just one atom thick could help make graphene even more useful.
Butterfly wings, like those of the monarch butterfly, have inspired scientists to create “structural colours”.
tea maeklong/Shutterstock
Scientists continue to invent new colours for new applications thanks to nanoscale structures.
Why do one big experiment when you can do millions of tiny ones?
Timothy Strobel
Compressed glassy carbon could be used to make better bulletproof vests or new types of electronics.
Don’t skimp on the SPF.
Sabphoto via Shutterstock.com
Energy from the sun’s rays can cause skin damage and cancers. Sunscreens can absorb or reflect the dangerous UV light. Here’s how it works.
The periodic table of the elements on a T-shirt.
Damon Hart Davis
The periodic table is one of the classic images of science that is found in labs as well as on t-shirts, mugs, even set to music. But what exactly is the periodic table?
Chemistry has been getting greener since the ‘80s.
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It was not until the 1980s that the environment became a priority for the chemical industry, and it was the industry’s bid to clean up that gave birth to ‘green chemistry’.
Molecular machines are ready to join forces and take on real-world work.
Chenfeng Ke
Research on molecular machines won last year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry. Now scientists have figured out a way to get these tiny molecules to join forces and collaborate on real work on a macro scale.
Where’d I leave my bunsen burner?
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If it weren’t for chemistry, that pile of wrinkled shirts would take even longer to sort out.
Pink water.
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An expert in water science explains the mysterious chemistry behind water treatment.
The busier the pool, the worse it is.
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Nitrogen trichloride makes swimming pools smell and is a good indicator of plenty of pee.
Labs around the world make explosives all the time.
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An explosive was recently made by accident in a UK lab, but many labs across the world make them for interest and application.