Chemistry News

Underground oceans on Enceladus?

An ocean of liquid water could well exist beneath the icy exterior of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, scientists have said this week. Two papers published in Nature, one by Frank...

Pot Dating

  If you are an archeologist looking at a new site, one of the first things you want to know is how old it is. Radiocarbon dating can answer this quest...

Chemists cook up recipe for life

One of nature's enduring mysteries is how the complex systems that make up a functioning cell evolved in the first place.  ...

Lithium in tap water cuts suicide rates

Scientists in Japan have found a strong link between higher levels of the metal lithium in tap water and a reduced incidence of suicide. ...

Environmentally-friendly fire extinguishers

Scientists have developed an exciting new method of putting out fires - carbon dioxide hydrate crystals. ...

Every cloud has a silver lining, or should that be a lead lining?

We could have inadvertently stalled the greenhouse effect by historically including lead in petrol, a European and US team of scientists have concluded. Wr...

Ancient pharaohs sipped medicinal tipple

Swigging back an aspirin dissolved in a glass of wine may not be a common way of taking medicines these days, but that was what the ancient Egyptians were up to at least 5000 years...

Self-repairing surface based on crab skeleton

US scientists have come up with a new way to solve problem trolley-scrapes acquired in the supermarket car-park - a self repairing surface triggered by UV. ...

Molecule muscles more oxygen off haemoglobin to boost performance and beat heart failure

Scientists have developed a new molecule that can provoke haemoglobin, the red oxygen-bearing pigment in blood, to release its oxygen cargo more readily, boosting muscle power. ...

Nanotube fuel cells

One of the most promising ways of replacing petrol and diesel for powering cars is to use fuel cells. These are not a source of energy but the common onces can react a fuel with ox...