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Category: chemistry – Page 276

Synthetic DNA Manufacturer has the “Write Stuff”

Circa 2021 Synthetic silicon dna storage.

In research, the demand for DNA strands often outpaces supply. To help supply keep up, researchers may set aside traditional molecular cloning techniques and embrace polymerase chain reaction select PCR)-based techniques. Alternatively, researchers may perform gene synthesis, or the de novo chemical synthesis of DNA. Besides accelerating the creation of genetic sequences, gene synthesis avoids the need for template strands and simplifies procedures such as codon optimization and the fabrication of mutant sequences.

Although gene synthesis can be performed in house, many laboratories prefer to focus on their core competencies and outsource their gene synthesis projects to service providers, especially if sequences of over 1,000 base pairs are desired. Outsourcing also allows laboratories to take advantage of service providers’ economies of scale and quick turnaround times. Finally, service providers offer ease of use. Clients can go online, upload the desired sequences, choose the vector, get the price, and place the order. The entire process takes only a few minutes, and the genes can be delivered a few days later.

Researchers needing a few genes have a choice of several providers. But what if researchers need 10,000 genes? “We’re probably the only game in town,” suggests Emily Leproust, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Twist Bioscience.

A biological motor that consumes chiral fuel drives rotation in one direction around a single covalent bond

Bart Blommaertsif it helps. But don’t cut internet cables with that thing!!

Andreas StürmerFinally. Is it going to be a rail or car tunnel?

Eric KlienAdmin.

Andreas Stürmer Rail.

Jose Ruben Rodriguez Fuentes shared a link.

A team of researchers at the University of Manchester has created a molecular motor that consumes chiral fuel to drive rotation around a single covalent bond. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their work in developing a chemically powered directionally rotating motor and why they believe their efforts will result in similar systems being developed with other materials.

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Infrared Multiple Photon Dissociation Spectroscopy Confirms Reversible Water Activation in Mn+(H2O)n, n ≤ 8

Ron FriedmanThink outside the box. Most people don’t need a car for the sake of having a car.

Most people need a comfortable, quick and cheap way of going from A to B. So, Robotaxi could be the ideal solution for most people most of the time.… See more.

Jerry AndersonProbably not, because new batteries that contain other elements, I think they are saying Sulfur-Lithium batteries are more efficient last longer, and don’t require recharging as often… There are bound to be other breakthroughs.

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Shubham Ghosh Roy shared a link.

Controlled activation of water molecules is the key to efficient water splitting. Hydrated singly charged manganese ions Mn+(H2O)n exhibit a size-dependent insertion reaction, which is probed by infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy (IRMPD) and FT-ICR mass spectrometry. The noninserted isomer of Mn+(H2O)4 is formed directly in the laser vaporization ion source, while its inserted counterpart HMnOH+(H2O)3 is selectively prepared by gentle removal of water molecules from larger clusters. The IRMPD spectra in the O–H stretch region of both systems are markedly different, and correlate very well with quantum chemical calculations of the respective species at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ//BHandHLYP/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory. The calculated potential energy surface for water loss from HMnOH+(H2O)3 shows that this cluster ion is metastable. During IRMPD, the system rearranges back to the noninserted Mn+(H2O)3 structure, indicating that the inserted structure requires stabilization by hydration. The studied system serves as an atomically defined single-atom redox-center for reversible metal insertion into the O–H bond, a key step in metal-centered water activation.

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Revolutionary images of the birth of crystals

Josh SeehermanI don’t think he’s wrong.

Art ToegemannIt’s adjusting to users sharing a password.

Shubham Ghosh Roy shared a link.

At the interface between chemistry and physics, the process of crystallization is omnipresent in nature and industry. It is the basis for the formation of snowflakes but also of certain active ingredients used in pharmacology. For the phenomenon to occur for a given substance, it must first go through a stage called nucleation, during which the molecules organize themselves and create the optimal conditions for the formation of crystals. While it has been difficult to observe pre-nucleation dynamics, this key process has now been revealed by the work of a research team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE). The scientists have succeeded in visualizing this process spectroscopically in real time and on a micrometric scale, paving the way to the design of safer and more stable active substances. These results can be found in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Crystallization is a chemical and physical process used in many fields, from the pharmaceutical industry to food processing. It is used to isolate a gaseous or liquid substance in the form of crystals. However, this phenomenon is not unique to industry; it is ubiquitous in nature and can be seen, for example, in snowflakes, coral or kidney stones.

For crystals to form from substances, they must first go through a crucial stage called nucleation. It is during this first phase that the molecules begin to arrange themselves to form “nuclei,” stable clusters of molecules, which leads to the development and growth of . This process occurs stochastically, meaning it is not predictable when and where a nucleus form. “Until now, scientists have been struggling to visualize this first stage at the molecular level. The microscopic picture of crystal nucleation has been under intense debate. Recent studies suggest that molecules seem to form some disordered organization before the formation of nuclei. Then how does the crystalline order emerge from them? That is a big question,” explains Takuji Adachi, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Chemistry at the UNIGE Faculty of Science.

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Reversible fuel cells can support grid economically, study finds

A major challenge for producers of electricity from solar panels and wind turbines is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle. Both solar and wind increasingly generate electricity amid little demand, when market prices are too low to cover costs. At noon on sunny days, for example, wholesale power prices in areas with high quantities of solar and wind occasionally fall below zero.

Some renewable energy producers store their excess as green , using the electricity to produce hydrogen from water—labeled “green” because the process emits no . Used to create fuels, fertilizer, and other chemicals, the global hydrogen market is about $125 billion, and it’s growing briskly in part due to increased interest in hydrogen as a fuel for buses, trucks, and even ships. The problem is that producing hydrogen with electricity remains fairly expensive, so it’s only profitable to sell at the higher prices paid by lower-volume customers.

But now, researchers at Stanford University and at the University of Mannheim in Germany have found a possible solution: integrated reversible power-to-gas systems that can easily convert hydrogen back to electricity when power prices spike higher.

Capturing Solar Energy and Converting It to Electricity When Needed — Up to 18 Years Later

The researchers behind an energy system that makes it possible to capture solar energy, store it for up to eighteen years, and release it when and where it is needed have now taken the system a step further. After previously demonstrating how the energy can be extracted as heat, they have now succeeded in getting the system to produce electricity, by connecting it to a thermoelectric generator. Eventually, the research – developed at Chalmers University of Technology 0, Sweden – could lead to self-charging electronic gadgets that use stored solar energy on demand.

“This is a radically new way of generating electricity from solar energy. It means that we can use solar energy to produce electricity regardless of weather, time of day, season, or geographical location. It is a closed system that can operate without causing carbon dioxide emissions,” says research leader Kasper Moth-Poulsen, Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers.

The researchers behind the solar energy system MOST, which makes it possible to capture solar energy, store it for up to 18 years, and release it when and where it is needed, have now taken the system a step further. After previously demonstrating how the energy can be extracted as heat, they have now succeeded in getting the system to produce electricity, by connecting it to a compact thermoelectric generator. The research, which was carried out at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, could eventually lead to self-charging gadgets that are powered on-demand by stored solar energy. Credit: Chalmers University of Technology.

Study shows simple, computationally-light model can simulate complex brain cell responses

The brain is inarguably the single most important organ in the human body. It controls how we move, react, think and feel, and enables us to have complex emotions and memories. The brain is composed of approximately 86 billion neurons that form a complex network. These neurons receive, process, and transfer information using chemical and electrical signals.

Learning how respond to different signals can further the understanding of cognition and development and improve the management of disorders of the brain. But experimentally studying neuronal networks is a complex and occasionally invasive procedure. Mathematical models provide a non-invasive means to accomplish the task of understanding , but most current models are either too computationally intensive, or they cannot adequately simulate the different types of complex neuronal responses. In a recent study, published in Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications, IEICE, a research team led by Prof. Tohru Ikeguchi of Tokyo University of Science, has analyzed some of the complex responses of neurons in a computationally simple neuron model, the Izhikevich neuron model.

“My laboratory is engaged in research on neuroscience and this study analyzes the basic mathematical properties of a neuron model. While we analyzed a single neuron model in this study, this model is often used in computational neuroscience, and not all of its properties have been clarified. Our study fills that gap,” explains Prof. Ikeguchi. The research team also comprised Mr. Yota Tsukamoto and Ph.D. student Ms. Honami Tsushima, also from Tokyo University of Science.

Simple, Computationally-Light Model Can Simulate Complex Brain Cell Responses

Summary: The Izhikevich neuron model allows the simulation of both periodic and quasi-periodic responses in neurons at lower computational cost.

Source: Tokyo University of Science.

The brain is inarguably the single most important organ in the human body. It controls how we move, react, think and feel, and enables us to have complex emotions and memories. The brain is composed of approximately 86 billion neurons that form a complex network. These neurons receive, process, and transfer information using chemical and electrical signals.

What’s Really Going on Inside a Neutron Star

Scientists are finally getting closer to figuring out the puzzle of the structure of neutron stars and revealing the nature of their ultra-dense interiors.

In theories of stellar evolution, neutron stars are considered one of the end states of stars, along with white dwarfs and black holes. As a star evolves it will enter stages of expansion as hydrogen is fused into helium and so on through the periodic table of elements. Depending on the mass of the star, a limit will be reached whereby nuclear fusion can no longer take place and the star is no longer able to overcome the immense gravitational force which it has been holding back for all these years. As a result, the star implodes, ejecting its outer layers as a planetary nova or a supernova, leaving only a mere remnant of its former self behind – or so the story goes.

For massive stars, the implosion is so great that it crushes its stellar matter to such high densities that the oppositely charged electrons and protons are forced so close together that they fuse to become neutrons, hence creating a neutron star. This neutron star is so dense that a single teaspoonful could weigh a billion tonnes! For stars massive enough, it is further theorised that the gravitational collapse would be so great that it would instead crush the neutron star down to the size of an infinitesimal point, creating a black hole.