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Category: chemistry – Page 7

After confirming the potential historic observation, the results were evaluated for several possible errors. The work was also analyzed independently. Each time, the team came back to the conclusion that they may have found the first potential signs of life outside our solar system.

“It was an incredible realisation seeing the results emerge and remain consistent throughout the extensive independent analyses and robustness tests,” said co-author Måns Holmberg, a researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

Notably, the concentrations of either DMS or DMDS spotted by JWST were thousands of times higher than concentrations found on Earth. According to the Cambridge astronomers, detecting high levels of either of these chemicals on Hycean (ocean) worlds due to large amounts of biological activity was previously predicted.

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What do you think of when it comes to extra terrestrial life? Most popular sci-fi books and TV shows suggest humanoid beings could live on other planets. But when astronomers are searching for extra-terrestrial life, it is usually in the form of emissions from bacteria or other tiny organisms.

A new research paper in the Astrophysical Journal suggests that Cambridge scientists have managed to find this type of emission with a certainty of 99.7% from a planet called K2-18b, 124 light years away. They used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to analyze the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere and say they found promising evidence K2-18b could host life.

It’s an exciting breakthrough, but it doesn’t confirm alien life.

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Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are tiny semiconductor particles that are just a few nanometers in size, which are synthesized in a liquid solution (i.e., colloid). These single-crystal particles, created by breaking down bulk materials via chemical and physical processes, have proved to be promising for the development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies.

Quantum dot-based PVs could have various advantages, including a tunable bandgap, greater flexibility and solution processing. However, quantum dot-based developed so far have been found to have significant limitations, including lower efficiencies than conventional silicon-based cells and high manufacturing costs, due to the expensive processes required to synthesize conductive CQD films.

Researchers at Soochow University in China, the University of Electro-Communications in Japan and other institutes worldwide recently introduced a new method that could potentially help to improve the efficiencies of quantum-dot based photovoltaics, while also lowering their manufacturing costs. Their proposed approach, outlined in a paper published in Nature Energy, entails the engineering of lead sulfide (PbS) CQD inks used to print films for solar cells.

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Northeastern University researchers resurrected an extinct plant gene, turning back the evolutionary clock to pave a path forward for the development and discovery of new drugs.

Specifically, the team, led by Jing-Ke Weng, a professor of chemistry, and bioengineering at Northeastern, repaired a defunct gene in the coyote tobacco plant.

In a new paper, they detail their discovery of a previously unknown kind of cyclic peptide, or mini-protein, called nanamin that is easy to bioengineer, making it “a platform with huge potential for drug discovery,” Weng says. The paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious.

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone.

On Earth, DMS and DMDS are only produced by life, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton. While an unknown chemical process may be the source of these molecules in K2-18b’s atmosphere, the results are the strongest evidence yet that life may exist on a planet outside our solar system.

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Researchers at the European XFEL have developed a new device for X-ray measurements at high photon energies—a so-called Laue spectrometer. It enables X-ray light with photon energies of more than 15 kiloelectronvolts to be detected with improved efficiency and highest precision.

This is important for researching technically significant materials that, for example, transport electricity without losses or ensure that chemical processes run more efficiently. The findings are published in the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.

To unravel the secrets of the world of atoms, molecules and materials in general, scientists often use special measurement devices known as spectrometers. They work by recording the light that objects emit. From the way in which the objects do that, researchers learn a lot about the physical processes that take place in the materials.

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Most energy generators currently employed within the electronics industry are based on inorganic piezoelectric materials that are not bio-compatible and contribute to the pollution of the environment on Earth. In recent years, some electronics researchers and chemical engineers have thus been trying to develop alternative devices that can generate electricity for medical implants, wearable electronics, robots and other electronics harnessing organic materials that are safe, bio-compatible and non-toxic.

Researchers at the Materials Science Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur recently introduced a new device based on seeds from the mimosa pudica plant, which can serve both as a bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator and a self-chargeable supercapacitor. Their proposed device, outlined in a paper published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, was found to achieve remarkable efficiencies, while also having a lesser adverse impact on the environment.

“This study was motivated by the need for biocompatible, self-sustaining energy systems to power (e.g., pacemakers, neurostimulators) and wearable electronics,” Prof. Dr. Bhanu Bhusan Khatua, senior author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.

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Proteins are the building blocks of life. They consist of folded peptide chains, which in turn are made up of a series of amino acids. From stabilising cell structure to catalysing chemical reactions, proteins have many functions. Their diversity is further increased by modifications that take place after the peptide chains have been synthesised. One form of modification is protein splicing. The protein initially contains a so-called ‘intein’, which removes itself from the peptide chain to ensure the correct folding and function of the final protein.

A research team has now answered a long-standing research question: Why does a special variant of the inteins, the ‘split inteins’, often encounter problems in the laboratory that significantly lower the efficiency of the reaction? The researchers were able to identify protein misfolding as one cause and have developed a method to prevent it.

The splicing of proteins rarely occurs in nature but is very interesting for research. The solution found by the team opens up possibilities for using split inteins to produce proteins that are useful in basic research or for applications in biotechnology and biomedicine.

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