Chemistry

From L to R: Frances H. Arnold was recognized for her work in the directed evolution of enzymes, while George P. Smith and Sir Gregory Winter were honored for the phage display of peptides and antibodies

Three Evolutionary Scientists Share This Year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Frances Arnold, George Smith and Gregory Winter employed principles seen in evolution to develop proteins that tackle global chemical problems

The coating, if used on enough buildings at once, could also help deal with so-called “urban heat islands.”

This New Coating Could Help Keep Buildings Cool

The porous polymer uses tiny air holes to reflect all wavelengths of sunlight, cooling buildings far better than white paint

A Mobius strip.

The Mathematical Madness of Möbius Strips and Other One-Sided Objects

The discovery of the Möbius strip in the mid-19th century launched a brand new field of mathematics: topology

A postage stamp printed in Norway showing an image of Alfred Nobel, circa 2001.

Should the Nobel Prizes Take a Year Off?

An award designed to go to those who benefit all humanity has a history of prejudice and controversy

Oils extracted from the citronella plant are a powerful mosquito repellent.

Why Plant-Based Mosquito Repellents Are So Hard to Make

Bug sprays with DEET feel oily and smell gross. But turning natural plant oils into commercial products isn't easy

Genome Reveals When Opium Poppy Became a Painkiller

A combination of two genes over 7.8 million years ago was the first step to producing morphine and other narcotic compounds

Here's What We Know (and Don't Know) About Flushing Contact Lenses Down the Drain

Though they are tiny, the lenses add up--and might be infiltrating the environment

These deficiencies are just the starting point for much bigger problems.

Climate Change Could Lead to Nutrient Deficiency for Hundreds of Millions

Carbon dioxide decreases zinc, iron and protein in food crops, which could add millions of people to the billions who don't get enough nutrition

Biobot Analytics is tracking the use of opioids, neighborhood by neighborhood, by analyzing the sewage in Cary, North Carolina.

Sewage May Hold the Key to Tracking Opioid Abuse

Public health managers are hoping to pinpoint how and when people abuse drugs in order to prevent deaths

Ancient Mayan Clearcutting Still Impacts Carbon in Soil Today

Even 1,000 years after a forest regrows, the soil beneath still won't hold as much carbon as it once could, a new study suggests

FOG (fats, oils and greases) in various stages of treatment

Turning Fatbergs Into Biofuel

Researchers have developed a new method for recycling greasy sewer blockages into green fuel

Extreme weather events likely had severe consequences, depleting harvests and weakening humans and livestock alike

Animal Fat Found in Clay Pottery Reveals How Ancient People Adapted to Drought

Neolithic farmers switched from cattle to goat herding, abandoned communal dwellings for smaller households to adjust to new climate

Do you smell something, Bob?

Ocean Acidification Is Frying Fish's Sense of Smell

By the end of the century, the ocean is predicted to become two-and-a-half times more acidic, which is bad news for sea life.

Elephants relax at the Jejane watering hole, with no bees in sight.

How the Scent of Angry Bees Could Protect Elephants

A new study shows elephants fear bee pheromones, and this fact could keep the pachyderms out of crops

Noctilucent clouds.

Climate Change Is Responsible for These Rare High-Latitude Clouds

A study shows that methane emissions are responsible for the increase of noctilucent clouds, which glow eerily at night

Is there hope for B.O.?

Will a New Discovery About Body Odor Lead to Better Deodorants?

Biologists now understand a key part of the molecular process that results in body odor—and deodorants might just be able to disrupt it

Pink Was the First Color of Life on Earth

Researchers have found bright pink pigments in 1.1 billion year old fossils of cyanobacteria drilled in West Africa

Our Galaxy Is Really Greasy and Smells Like Moth Balls

A new study estimates that a quarter to half the carbon in interstellar space is in the form of greasy aliphatic carbon

Installing the water harvester

This Device Pulls Water Out of Desert Air

A new water harvester can extract water from extremely dry air, using only solar energy

Prototype of one of the magnets that will be used in the upgraded Large Hadron Collider.

The Large Hadron Collider Is Getting A Huge Power Boost

A multi-year upgrade will lead to up to 10 times the collisions, and perhaps the discovery of mysterious new particles

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