Chemistry

  1. photo of Josep Cornella wearing a blue shirt
    Chemistry

    Josep Cornella breaks boundaries to make new and better catalysts

    Josep Cornella reinvents chemical reactions essential for agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry.

    By Anna Gibbs
  2. landscape photo of the Alhambra palace
    Chemistry

    Why once-gold ceilings in Spain’s Alhambra palace have purple stains

    Moisture infiltrated flawed gilding at the iconic palace, leading to corrosion that deposited gold nanoparticles of the right size to appear purple.

    By Carmen Drahl
  3. photo of models wearing pink and white Zara dresses where one model's face looks to the camera and the torso of another model is visible
    Climate

    How to make recyclable plastics out of CO2 to slow climate change

    Companies are turning atmospheric CO2 from smokestacks and landfills into plastics to shrink their carbon footprint.

    By Ann Leslie Davis
  4. image of two pairs of sneakers by a door
    Climate

    A carbon footprint life cycle assessment can cut down on greenwashing

    As companies try to reduce their carbon footprint, many are doing life cycle assessments to quantify the full carbon cost of their products.

    By Ann Leslie Davis
  5. Seven yellow water-resistant jackets hanging up on a rack next to a pair of yellow rain boots
    Environment

    Common, cheap ingredients can break down some ‘forever chemicals’

    Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are harmful compounds that are very difficult to degrade. But some are no match for lye and dimethyl sulfoxide.

    By Jude Coleman
  6. Chemist Michel Nieuwoudt and art historian Erin Griffey, both blond women wearing goggles, masks and lab coats, holding vials and standing in front of Renaissance-era art and a sign that reads Beautiful Chemistry
    Chemistry

    These researchers are unlocking Renaissance beauty secrets

    An art historian has teamed up with chemists to uncover the science behind cosmetics used around 500 years ago.

    By Rina Diane Caballar
  7. a cat chewing a catnip plant
    Chemistry

    Cats chewing on catnip boosts the plant’s insect-repelling powers

    When cats tear up catnip, it increases the amount of insect-repelling chemicals released by the plants.

    By Anil Oza
  8. painting of a bouquet of flowers that includes a yellow rose near the center
    Chemistry

    A pigment’s shift in chemistry robbed a painted yellow rose of its brilliance

    The degradation of an arsenic-based paint stripped shadows and light from a still life flower in a 17th century work by painter Abraham Mignon.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  9. An outdoor view of an apparatus that removes chemicals from the public water supply. Two men in hardhats look on.
    Ecosystems

    Just 3 ingredients can quickly destroy widely used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

    Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down enduring PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other UV-based methods.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  10. an illustration of a band of carbon atoms that has only one side, like a Möbius strip
    Chemistry

    Scientists made a Möbius strip out of a tiny carbon nanobelt

    A twisted belt of carbon atoms joins carbon nanotubes and buckyballs in the list of carbon structures scientists can create.

    By Emily Conover
  11. a photo of several bottle of plant milks on a table
    Agriculture

    Oat and soy milks are planet friendly, but not as nutritious as cow milk

    Plant-based milks are better for the environment, but nutrition-wise they fall behind cow milk.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  12. image of a scoop of ice cream
    Chemistry

    Grainy ice cream is unpleasant. Plant-based nanocrystals might help

    The growth of large ice crystals in ice cream produces a coarse texture. A cellulose nanocrystal stabilizer could help keep the unwelcome iciness away.

    By Anna Gibbs