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Chemistry & Physics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2025 14:10 ET (18-Jun-2025 18:10 GMT/UTC)

Inorganic and biocatalysts work together to reduce CO-2

Ruhr-University Bochum
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In order to recover valuable substances from CO₂, it must be reduced in many individual steps. If electrocatalysis is used for this, many potentially different potential molecules are formed, which cannot necessarily be used. Biocatalysts, on the other hand, are selective and only produce one product – but they are also very sensitive. An international research team led by Professor Wolfgang Schuhmann from the Center for Electrochemistry at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, and Dr. Felipe Conzuelo from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, has developed a hybrid catalysis cascade that makes use of the advantages of both processes. The researchers report in the journal “Angewandte Chemie Interational Edition” from December 23, 2024.

Journal: Angewandte Chemie
Funder: European Research Council, FCT – Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia

Scientists develop “Malteser-like” molecules with potential applications in targeted drug delivery

Trinity College Dublin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have taken a major step forwards in tackling one of the greatest abiding challenges in chemistry, by learning how to programme the self-assembly of molecules in such a way that the end result is predictable and desirable. Their “Malteser-like” molecules could one day have a suite of applications – from highly sensitive and specific sensors, to next-gen, targeted drug delivery agents.

Journal: Chem
Funder: Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, Royal Society

Targeted intervention in the metabolism of bacteria

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Antibiotics are a double-edged sword – they should be as toxic as possible to pathogenic bacteria while being harmless to the cells of the human body. An international research team led by the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now developed drug candidates that achieve precisely that. The new molecules target a metabolic pathway that only occurs in bacterial cells, thus sparing human cells. The team published its results in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.Antibiotics are a double-edged sword – they should be as toxic as possible to pathogenic bacteria while being harmless to the cells of the human body. An international research team led by the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now developed drug candidates that achieve precisely that. The new molecules target a metabolic pathway that only occurs in bacterial cells, thus sparing human cells. The team published its results in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Journal: Angewandte Chemie

UniTrento partners with Google's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab for research

Università di Trento
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team coordinated by the Department of Physics was able to work on the powerful computers of Google's Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab to conduct a study on confinement in lattice gauge theory. The results of the study have been published in Nature Physics

Journal: Nature

New study unveils breakthrough in understanding cosmic particle accelerators

Northumbria University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have come a step closer to understanding how collisionless shock waves – found throughout the universe – are able to accelerate particles to extreme speeds.

Journal: Nature Communications

Breakthrough in measurement of three different deformations in atomic nucleus

University of Jyväskylä - Jyväskylän yliopisto
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new milestone in nuclear physics has been achieved with the direct observation of three different deformations in the atomic nucleus of lead-190 (190Pb). These deformations, associated with three distinct shapes–spherical, oblate (resembling a tomato), and prolate (similar to a watermelon)–exist simultaneously near the ground state. The findings, published in Communications Physics in January 2025, were made possible by complementary experimental techniques and call for better theoretical models.

Journal: Communications Physics

High-performance and scalable contactless solar evaporation with 3D structure

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study published in Science Bulletin, researchers developed a high-performance contactless solar evaporation design with a 3D solar-heating and vapor-escaping structure, addressing challenges in the scalable and durable contactless solar evaporation. The 3D design significantly improves the vapor transport, achieving a laboratory evaporation rate of 1.03 kg m^-2 h^-1 under one-sun illumination, 110% higher than conventional methods and 1.21 kg m^-2 h^-1 in outdoor tests under dilute solar flux (589.98 W m^-²). The design demonstrated excellent scalability, with minimal performance variation (3%) between small and large devices, offering a robust, contamination-resistant solution for sustainable water treatment.

Journal: Science Bulletin
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China