Chemistry
- Tech
Ordinary paper turns into flexible human-powered keypad
Engineers have figured out how to turn sheets of paper into rugged, low-cost electronic devices, such as a computer keypad.
- Plants
Explainer: How photosynthesis works
Plants can take in light, water and carbon dioxide, and send out sugar and oxygen. Here’s how it works.
- Chemistry
2020 chemistry Nobel goes for CRISPR, the gene-editing tool
Only eight years after its development, CRISPR has revolutionized genetics. It also just brought Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna acclaim.
- Chemistry
Study acid-base chemistry with at-home volcanoes
Baking soda volcanoes are a fun demonstration, and with a few tweaks they can be an experiment, too
- Chemistry
How to recycle ‘nonrecyclable’ plastics
A new process can convert some nonrecyclable plastics into a type that now can be reused. That could greatly cut down on wastes sent to landfills.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Plastic
Plastics are made of long polymer chains and can take on many shapes. Unfortunately, they stick around for a long time.
- Chemistry
New solution for carbon dioxide: Turn it into ‘green’ fuel
Chemists have created a new way to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol. It might one day help remove excess CO2 — a greenhouse gas — from the air.
- Chemistry
Build ice towers with bottled water and ice
Pour out liquid water into a solid ice tower. We outline the conditions you’ll need to turn this demonstration into a super-cool experiment.
- Chemistry
Stinky success: Scientists identify the chemistry of B.O.
They turned up the enzyme in bacteria behind that underarm stench. Understanding how it works could pave the way to new types of deodorant.
- Chemistry
Scientists say: Chemical
A chemical is anything made of two or more atoms bonded together in a fixed structure. Chemicals make up the world around us.
- Animals
A single chemical may draw lonely locusts into a hungry swarm
Swarms of locusts can destroy crops. Scientists have discovered a chemical that might make locusts come together in huge hungry swarms.
- Agriculture
Scientists Say: Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are molecules with carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Animals break down these chemicals in food to get energy.
