Bioelectric bacteria-powered sensor detects water contaminants in real time
Synthetic biology harnessed to detect endocrine disruptor and thiosulfate
Mars’ water came from outer space
Asteroids from the outer solar system would have delivered enough water to cover the red planet in a 300m-deep ocean
AI beats human experts when it comes to peptide design
Algorithm throws up some counter-intuitive structures in contest
A recipe for biodegradable mushroom batteries
Mycelium skin from wood fungus makes sustainable material for flexible electronics
‘Flip-flopping’ MOFs used to separate water isotopes
Porous materials with temperature controlled gateways can split heavy water from water by relying on differential diffusion effect
Artificially expanded genetic alphabet evolves enzymes for the first time
Libraries of short DNA sequences incorporating synthetic nucleotides perform better as enzymes than ordinary DNA
New lease of life for waste PVC chlorinating aromatics
Electrochemical process could tackle hard to recycle plastic
Radium chelator researchers working to improve targeted cancer therapies
Oak Ridge National Lab team investigate factors underpinnning Ra2+ complex stability and selectivity in attempt to expand the therapeutic utility of radium-223
Powerful rare-earth free magnet ‘evolved’ and refined by machine learning algorithm
Combination of iron, cobalt and boron points to alternatives to metals beset by geopolitical battles
Mystery surrounding metalation reaction’s reagent excess solved
Multiple ‘base-eating’ aggregates discovered in classic directed ortho lithiation
Ethoxylation gets long chain surfactants to dissolve at ambient temperatures
System could be used to cut amount of surfactant required for washing detergents
Dual use molecular motor can drive or glow
Infrared light can flip molecular machine between rotary motion and photoluminescence
Homogeneous catalysis boosted by electrochemical recovery of precious metal complexes
Process can recover metals from industrially important catalysts
Fully automated synthesis robot sets new record in stereospecific carbon–carbon bond formation
The robotic platform can make six carbon–carbon bonds without human guidance
Chirality-flipping reaction could completely change total synthesis strategies
Photocatalytic reaction that inverts configuration of chiral carbon centres offers new stereochemical editing logic
Simple gold salt test for whisky maturity could be round the corner
Formation of gold nanoparticles could track ageing process of whisky and signal when the spirit is ready for bottling
Controversy surrounds corrected chemical structures
Researchers used machine learning-powered NMR prediction to correct improbable structures – but some of their revisions have been challenged
Single-molecule magnetic memory is the first to work at room temperature
Anionic iron complex breaks the rules of magnetic molecules and opens up opportunities to miniaturise data storage
Three-centre two-positron bond predicted
Findings expand group of molecules that combine matter and antimatter
AI discovers the best general conditions yet for cross couplings, doubling yields
Algorithm works with robotic experimenter on tricky Suzuki–Miyaura reactions
Gut bacterium found to destroy nicotine offers liver health benefits for smokers
Discovery might lead to therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Bond switching stops hard ceramic from cracking under stress
Deformable silicon nitride absorbs compression stress through gradual phase change
Mystery of speedy proton hopping in water unravelled
X-ray spectroscopy helps scientists understand how protons move in water
Porphyrins can be turned into customisable molecular nanomagnets
Atomic manipulation creates materials for information storage and quantum computing
Diverse pharmaceutical building blocks prepared with evolved enzymes
Computation guides enzyme evolution to produce high-value drug compounds
Chemical Turing machine reads molecular tape
Crown ether ratchet reads out molecular strand’s chirality
NMR spectroscopy used to guide evolution of better enzymes
Identifying mutagenic ‘hotspots’ could speed development of new proteins
Machine learning navigates vast materials space to discover new high-performance alloys
Neural net suggested unusual element combination to create better Invar alloys