Chemistry

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- Health & Medicine
Science works to demystify hair and help it behave
Research explores new ways to classify hair — from loose curls to tight coils — along with ways to control it and improve its looks and health.
- Health & Medicine
Why you shouldn’t just brush off dandruff
Research points to certain yeast and bacteria as culprits behind some dandruff. Special shampoos or prescription cleansers can help.
- Plants
Explainer: How a seed grows into a plant
Plants use carbon from the air to make food and build shoots, roots and more. They adapt and respond to their environments in many incredible ways.
- Tech
A Jurassic Park-inspired method can safely store data in DNA
DNA can store all types of data. An amber-like material can now protect its information long-term — or release it on demand for short-term use.
By Payal Dhar - Chemistry
Predicting and designing protein structures wins a 2024 Nobel Prize
A biochemist and two computer scientists using AI shared the top award in chemistry.
By Meghan Rosen and Andrea Tamayo - Science & Society
Let’s learn about the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prizes are the highest honors in science. But the prizes are far from perfect measures of scientific impact.
- Chemistry
Explainer: How cells use chemistry to make the electricity of life
Charged particles, or ions, constantly move in and out of cells. These migrations produce tiny electric currents, which power your brain, heart and more.
- Health & Medicine
Skin appears to be no barrier for some common ‘forever’ chemicals
These PFAS, which have been linked to health problems, show up in many products that we touch every day — including clothes and food packaging.
- Planets
‘Percy,’ NASA’s rover, finds its first hint of ancient life on Mars
The robot examined a Mars rock containing organic compounds and “leopard spots.” On Earth, such spots usually come from microbial life.
- Animals
Metal gives the teeth of Komodo dragons their super strength
Investigating Komodo dragons' ironclad teeth in greater detail could also help solve a dental mystery in dinosaurs.
- Chemistry
The periodic table might soon have a new element
A new technique could be used to make the undiscovered element 120.
- Genetics
Scientists Say: Telomere
These protective caps at the ends of chromosomes play a key role in cell replication.