Chemistry
- Chemistry
Cooking up life for the first time
The basic components for life could have emerged together nearly 4 billion years ago on the surface of Earth, chemists report.
- Chemistry
Goopy tech leaves older 3-D printing in its wake
A new way of 3-D printing combines light and oxygen to create solid objects from liquid resin. The method quickly creates detailed objects.
- Genetics
Silencing genes — to understand them
Hijacking a cell process called RNA interference can let scientists turn off a selected gene. Its silencing can point to what genes do when they’re on — and may lead to new treatments for disease.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Fulgurite
When lightning strikes in the right place, it can fuse minerals together in a glassy structure.
- Tech
Sunglasses on demand
Plastics that conduct electricity let new color-changing sunglasses go from dark to light and back again at the tap of a switch. The shades could come in a range of colors too.
- Chemistry
Why metals have a blast in water
Alkali metals explode in water. Using high-speed cameras, scientists have finally figured out why.
- Brain
Blowing up the brain
When added to brain tissue, a chemical like one found in baby diapers expands. And it expands that brain tissue too, giving scientists a better view of how its cells connect.
- Environment
Air pollution can mess with our DNA
New research suggests a type of air pollution — diesel fumes — can affect your health. It inappropriately switches some genes on, while turning off others.
- Tech
Rewritable paper: Prints with light, not ink
Rewritable paper could save money, preserve forests and cut down on waste — and all without using any ink.
- Planets
Asteroid impacts may have sparked life on Earth
The energy produced by comets and asteroids that collide with Earth may have been strong enough to start life.
- Environment
Thirdhand smoke poses lingering danger
The pollutants in cigarette smoke can linger indoors for hours. Indeed, they may pose risks long after any visible smoke is gone.
- Chemistry
Sunlight might have put oxygen in Earth’s early air
High-energy bursts of ultraviolet light can break apart carbon dioxide, yielding oxygen gas. The experiment may mimic what happened on Earth billions of years ago.
