‘Low-VOC’ paints may still release harmful volatiles
New analysis finds volatile compounds and potential allergens in several popular water-based paints
Certain household chemicals could pose a threat to brain health, research suggests
Cell and animal tests suggest two classes of common chemicals might play a role in neurological disease
Chemical analysis reveals origins of early English silver coins
Byzantine silver plates were melted down to make many of the first Anglo-Saxon coins
Simulations track how MOFs adsorb water, one molecule at a time
‘You can almost drink our water model because it’s so realistic’
Self-dyeing vegan leather made by genetically engineered bacteria
Material can be shaped into shoes and wallets, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional leather
First entirely roll-to-roll system points way to cheap printed perovskite solar cells
New ink formulations facilitate printing of perovskite solar cells, catalysing cost-effective commercial applications
E. coli engineered to become methanol addict to make industry feedstocks
Bacterium could head off food versus fuel dilemma by producing chemicals from agricultural waste
Mystery of discrepancies in speed of sound in water cleared up by study of ions
Anions and cations found to have wildly different effect on the speed of sound in solutions
Light-driven enzyme engineered and repurposed to catalyse unnatural reaction
Directed evolution used to create photoenzyme that can perform new-to-nature radical cyclisation
Single atom layer of gold produced for the first time
Goldene synthesised via etching technique used in Japanese knife-making
Using analytical chemistry to illuminate the unlisted ingredients in tattoo inks
Discovery that more than 80% of the tattoo inks sampled had unlisted ingredients prompts New York-based lab to launch a website providing chemical information to tattoo artists and their clients
Chemists and linguists unite to encode Confucian proverb using sequence-defined polymers
Interdisciplinary collaboration tests how two encoding schemas preserve the visual details of Chinese characters
Telling left from right: chirality detection faces up to its weaknesses
New solutions are being found to an enduring problem in chemistry
First mirror-image cyclodextrins come together ‘like Lego’
L-enantiomers could be more stable than their existing, more common, forms
Monitoring PFAS pollutants in king penguins
New insight into how organohalogen pollutants affect seabirds
Brewing better Belgian beer with artificial intelligence
Machine learning tool can predict a beer’s taste and quality and which flavour compounds could improve it
Intelligent ionotronic wood device can keep an eye on people’s health
Infusing wood with ionic liquid enables creation of electronic wood
Static on steroids lets meat and fruit stick to metal at flick of switch
Electroadhesion could find biomedical and robotic applications
Carbon’s allotrope explosion demonstrates how the element is both versatile and fickle
New all carbon materials are relatively easy to predict but challenging, if not impossible to make, experts tell Andy Extance
Why are there metal particles in never-used cannabis vapes?
Findings cast doubt on past research showing metals are solely released by e-cigarettes when the devices’ coils are heated
Crystalline cages create unusual ‘touchless’ sensors
Researchers connect chemistry and engineering to create touch-free buttons based on the detection of the skin’s water
Model explains why water can freeze at different temperatures
The research could have applications in snowmaking, cloud seeding and beyond
Cross-coupling technique cracks open alcohols for chemical synthesis
A new alcohol–alcohol cross coupling reaction could become a powerful new tool for synthetic chemists
Pulsating chemical computers vie with their quantum rivals
The Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction powers cellular automata and optimisation calculations
Molecular crystal motors completely powered by light
Chemists in Saudi Arabia and the US have created tiny machines made from crystallised molecules that continuously move when exposed to light
Microplastics passed on during cell division
New research sheds light on the influence of microplastics on cellular processes
Non-antibiotics with antibacterial activity could help in the fight against antimicrobial resistance
New analysis shows that non-antibiotic drugs kill bacteria through mechanisms that differ from those of conventional antibiotics