Proposal takes aim at risk posed by ‘chemical cocktails’

As the EU prepares revisions to its registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (Reach) regulations, researchers are proposing a way of accounting for the growing number of ‘chemical cocktails’ found in the environment and human body.

Current requirements treat each chemical in the marketplace individually and producers must demonstrate safe use, which includes the concentrations in the environment. However, this does not reflect the realities of chemical exposure and risk.

‘We go out and take a bucket of water or blood sample and then we find dozens or even hundreds of chemicals in that sample,’ explains Thomas Backhaus, chair for ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment at RWTH University Aachen and lead author of the policy forum introducing the mixture allocation factor in Science.

The goal of the mixture allocation factor is to address the reality of mixtures and limit the fraction of total allowable risk any one chemical can have. Industrial chemicals are the proposed first target for the mixture allocation factor, many of which are covered by Reach.

Chemical risk is defined as a ratio of how much is present and how toxic a chemical is. This approach to risk is already in use for chemicals in the EU and provides a risk quotient value. ‘That ratio of exposure to a safe concentration is not allowed to exceed a value of one, so your concentration is never allowed to be higher than the safe concentration,’ explains Backhaus. In the new framework, the whole environment, or sample, is treated as one ‘risk cup’ in which the total risk value of all chemicals present cannot exceed one. The mixture allocation factor, therefore, reduces the maximum risk quotient value of an individual chemical to a value below one.

For example, when a mixture allocation factor of five is applied the allowable risk for each chemical drops from 1 to 0.2. Now when risk quotients for each chemical are estimated they must compare that ratio to 0.2 instead of 1. ‘That’s the only difference,’ says Backhaus, ‘you use the same data, the same approach, but just another target that you are comparing it to.’ In reality, some chemicals will be below the new allotted fraction of risk meaning a riskier chemical can occupy the extra space. But regulators can quickly assess whether the cumulative risk is above one and target the chemicals that contribute the most. ‘You’re not touching those compounds that are emitting low risk but you’re looking at those compounds that are what we call the risk drivers, those that really matter,’ says Backhaus.

According to Backhaus, the approach works for any sample and would not require new data collection methods. ‘We don’t need different approaches for human health and for protecting the environment,’ he says. ‘The numerical factors might be slightly different because we have different compounds in our body and in the water, but the idea is always exactly the same.’

Cynthia Rider, an expert with National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, who spoke to Chemistry World in a personal capacity, says that while the mixture allocation factor is a pragmatic start, adjustments may be required. ‘I think we won’t know if it is too conservative or not conservative enough until the actual [mixture allocation factor] value is established, and we see how it is implemented.’

For Claus Svendsen at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, ‘the main difficulty will still be identifying which chemicals to include in a given mixture assessment’. For example, pesticides and pharmaceuticals, which are explicitly designed to affect living organisms, may need their own allocation factor values.

Backhaus agrees that adjustments will be required as more data on the types and levels of co-occurring chemicals becomes available but starting with industrial chemicals is a logical first step. ‘We start now with industrial chemicals because that’s where the biggest number is, but perhaps not the most toxic chemicals and not the most risky chemicals.’

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Scientists Unveil Breakthrough Low-Temperature Fuel Cell That Could Revolutionize Hydrogen Power

Researchers at Kyushu University have created a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) exhibiting exceptionally high proton conductivity at 300°C.

As worldwide energy needs continue to rise, scientists, industry leaders, and policymakers are collaborating to find reliable ways to meet growing demand. This effort has become increasingly urgent as nations work to confront climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Among the most promising technologies being explored are solid-oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs. Unlike batteries, which store energy and then release it, fuel cells generate electricity by continuously converting chemical fuel into power as long as a fuel supply is available. Many people are already familiar with hydrogen fuel cells, which produce electricity and water from hydrogen gas.

SOFCs stand out for their high efficiency and long operational life. However, they have traditionally required extremely high operating temperatures of about 700-800℃. Systems built to withstand this heat must rely on specialized, expensive materials, which limits how widely the technology can be used.

In a new study published in Nature Materials, researchers at Kyushu University announce that they have created an SOFC capable of efficient operation at only 300℃. According to the team, this achievement could enable affordable, low-temperature SOFC designs and significantly speed up the transition of this technology from the laboratory to real-world applications.

Understanding the Role of the Electrolyte

The heart of an SOFC is the electrolyte, a ceramic layer that carries charged particles between two electrodes. In hydrogen fuel cells, the electrolyte transports hydrogen ions (a.k.a. protons) to generate energy. However, the fuel cell needs to operate at the extremally high temperatures to run efficiently.

“Bringing the working temperature down to 300℃ it would slash material costs and open the door to consumer-level systems,” explains Professor Yoshihiro Yamazaki from Kyushu University’s Platform of Inter-/Transdisciplinary Energy Research, who led the study. “However, no known ceramic could carry enough protons that fast at such ‘warm’ conditions. So, we set out to break that bottleneck.”

Electrolytes are composed of different combinations of atoms arranged in a crystal lattice structure. It’s between these atoms that a proton would travel. Researchers have explored different combinations of materials and chemical dopants substances that can alter the material’s physical properties to improve the speed at which protons travel through electrolytes.

“But this also comes with a challenge,” continues Yamazaki. “Adding chemical dopants can increase the number of mobile protons passing through an electrolyte, but it usually clogs the crystal lattice, slowing the protons down. We looked for oxide crystals that could host many protons and let them move freely a balance that our new study finally struck.”

The Breakthrough: Scandium-Doped Oxides

The team found that two compounds, barium stannate (BaSnO3) and barium titanate (BaTiO3), when doped with high concentrations of scandium (Sc), were able achieve the SOFC benchmark proton conductivity of more that 0.01 S/cm at 300℃, a conductivity level comparable to today’s common SOFC electrolytes at 600-700℃.

“Structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the Sc atoms link their surrounding oxygens to form a ‘ScO₆ highway,’ along which protons travel with an unusually low migration barrier. This pathway is both wide and softly vibrating, which prevents the proton-trapping that normally plagues heavily doped oxides,” explains Yamazaki. “Lattice-dynamics data further revealed that BaSnO₃ and BaTiO₃ are intrinsically ‘softer’ than conventional SOFC materials, letting them absorb far more Sc than previously assumed.”

The findings overturn the trade-off between dopant level and ion transport, offering a clear path for low-cost, intermediate-temperature SOFCs.

“Beyond fuel cells, the same principle can be applied to other technologies, such as low-temperature electrolyzes, hydrogen pumps, and reactors that convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals, thereby multiplying the impact of decarbonization. Our work transforms a long-standing scientific paradox into a practical solution, bringing affordable hydrogen power closer to everyday life,” concludes Yamazaki.

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🧬 Understanding Biochemistry: The Chemistry of Life

Biochemistry is the scientific study of the chemical processes that occur within living organisms. It bridges the disciplines of biology and chemistry, helping us understand how molecular interactions drive life’s most essential functions. From metabolism and enzyme activity to DNA replication and cellular communication, biochemistry provides the molecular blueprint behind every biological process. This field forms the foundation for advancements in medicine, biotechnology, pharmacology, and environmental science, making it one of the most influential scientific disciplines today.

🔬Structure and Function of Biomolecules

Biomolecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids are the building blocks of life. Biochemistry explores how their structures determine their functions. Proteins act as enzymes, hormones, and structural components; carbohydrates provide energy; lipids form cell membranes; and nucleic acids like DNA store genetic information. Understanding these molecules enables scientists to design new drugs, engineer metabolic pathways, and unravel complex biological systems.

⚡Enzyme Catalysis and Metabolism

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions essential for life. Biochemistry explains how enzyme activity is regulated, how metabolic pathways function, and how cells convert nutrients into energy. This knowledge helps develop therapeutic strategies for metabolic disorders, optimize industrial fermentation, and improve drug design.

🧪Genetic Information & Molecular Biology

One of biochemistry’s most fascinating areas involves DNA replication, transcription, and translation the processes through which genetic information is stored, copied, and expressed. These mechanisms form the basis of genetic engineering, CRISPR gene editing, DNA fingerprinting, and modern biotechnology. Understanding molecular genetics allows scientists to diagnose diseases, create synthetic organisms, and develop personalized medicine.

🌱Biochemistry in Health and Disease

Biochemical research helps reveal how diseases arise from molecular-level dysfunctions, such as enzyme deficiencies, protein misfolding, or genetic mutations. This knowledge is crucial for developing diagnostic tools, antiviral drugs, cancer therapies, and vaccines. Biochemistry also plays a vital role in nutrition science by explaining how vitamins, minerals, and nutrients interact within the body.

🌍Environmental and Industrial Biochemistry

Biochemistry extends beyond the human body into environmental sustainability. It helps in biodegradation, wastewater treatment, biofuel production, and the creation of eco-friendly materials. Microbial biochemistry is central to understanding how organisms recycle nutrients, break down pollutants, and maintain ecological balance.

✨ Conclusion: Why Biochemistry Matters

Biochemistry is more than a scientific field it is the language of life. It connects molecular interactions to biological functions, enabling transformative discoveries in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and environmental science. By studying biochemistry, we unlock the tools to understand life and engineer solutions to global challenges.

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New Catalyst Design Solves a Decades-Old Chemical Challenge

Researchers have created an iron-based catalyst that controls methane’s extreme reactivity, opening the door for natural gas to serve as a sustainable feedstock for high-value chemicals, including pharmaceuticals.

Natural gas, one of the most plentiful energy resources on Earth, consists mainly of methane, ethane, and propane. Although it is commonly burned for power and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, researchers have long looked for ways to convert these stable hydrocarbons into useful chemicals instead. Their low reactivity has made this goal difficult, limiting natural gas as a sustainable starting point for chemical manufacturing.

A research group led by Martín Fañanás at the Centre for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela has now introduced a method that overcomes this barrier. Their approach converts methane and other components of natural gas into flexible chemical “building blocks” that can be used to create high-value products, including pharmaceuticals. The work, published in Science Advances, marks an important step toward a more efficient and environmentally responsible chemical industry.

In a key demonstration, the CiQUS team produced the bioactive compound dimestrol, a non-steroidal estrogen used in hormone therapy, directly from methane. This milestone shows how their technique can generate complex and valuable molecules from a simple and inexpensive resource.

Taming Free Radicals to Unlock New Chemical Pathways

The researchers focused their approach on a reaction known as allylation, which adds a small chemical “handle” (an allyl group) to the gas molecule. This added group acts as a flexible anchor that allows many different products to be built in later steps, including pharmaceutical ingredients and common industrial chemicals. Until now, a major obstacle was that the catalytic system often generated unwanted chlorinated byproducts, which disrupted the entire process.

To overcome this obstacle, the team engineered a tailor-made supramolecular catalyst. “The core of this breakthrough lies in designing a catalyst based on a tetrachloroferrate anion stabilized by collidinium cations, which effectively modulates the reactivity of the radical species generated in the reaction medium,” explains Prof. Fañanás. “The formation of an intricate network of hydrogen bonds around the iron atom sustains the photocatalytic reactivity required to activate the alkane, while simultaneously suppressing the catalyst’s tendency to undergo competing chlorination reactions. This creates an optimal environment for the selective allylation reaction to proceed.”

Beyond its effectiveness, the method stands out for its sustainability. It uses iron a cheap, abundant, and far less toxic metal than the precious metals typically used in catalysis and operates under mild temperature and pressure conditions, powered by LED light. This significantly reduces both environmental impact and energy costs.

This work is part of a broader research line funded by the European Research Council (ERC), focused on upgrading the main components of natural gas. In a complementary advance published in Cell Reports Physical Science, the same team presented a method to directly couple these gases with acid chlorides, yielding industrially relevant ketones in a single step. Both studies, based on photocatalytic strategies, position CiQUS as a leader in developing innovative chemical solutions to harness abundant raw materials.

Transforming Natural Gas into Versatile Chemical Intermediates

The ability to convert natural gas into versatile chemical intermediates opens up new possibilities for industry, laying the foundation to gradually replace petrochemical sources with more sustainable alternatives.

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New Microwave Technique Could Turn CO2 Into Fuel Far More Efficiently

A new method uses microwaves to lower the energy required for certain industrial processes.

Some industrial chemical production processes depend on heat, but traditional heating methods are often wasteful because they warm large areas that do not actually need it. A research team including scientists from the University of Tokyo developed a method to focus heat only where it is needed.

Their approach uses microwaves, similar to those in a household microwave oven, to excite specific elements within the target materials. The new system achieved energy efficiencies about 4.5 times higher than conventional techniques.

A green transformation approach to industrial chemistry

Although climate change involves more than just energy production and carbon dioxide (CO2), lowering energy demand and emissions remains a key challenge for science and engineering. Under the broader goal of green transformation, Lecturer Fuminao Kishimoto and his colleagues in the Department of Chemical System Engineering at the University of Tokyo are developing cleaner, more efficient industrial methods.

Their latest work could improve processes used in chemical synthesis and may lead to other environmental benefits. The basic idea behind their innovation is surprisingly simple.




“In most cases, chemical reactions occur only at very small, localized regions involving just a few atoms or molecules. This means that even within a large chemical reactor, only limited parts truly require energy input for the reaction,” said Kishimoto. “However, conventional heating methods, such as combustion or hot fluids, disperse thermal energy throughout the entire reactor. We started this research with the idea that microwaves could concentrate energy on a single atomic active site, a little like how a microwave oven heats food.”

How it works: tuning microwaves for precision heating

As Kishimoto explained, the concept resembles that of a microwave oven but operates under different conditions. Instead of targeting polar water molecules at roughly 2.45 gigahertz (a frequency also used by many Wi-Fi signals, which explains why internet connections can sometimes falter when reheating food), the researchers tuned their microwaves to about 900 megahertz. This lower frequency proved optimal for exciting the material they were studying zeolite a porous substance that can efficiently absorb and transfer heat.

“The most challenging aspect was proving that only a single atomic active site was being heated by the microwaves. To achieve this, we spent four years developing a specialized experimental environment at Japan’s world-class large synchrotron radiation facility, SPring-8,” said Kishimoto.

“This involved using spongelike zeolite, which is ideal because we can control the sizes of the sponge cavities, allowing us to balance different factors of the reactions. Inside the sponge cavities, indium ions act like antennas. These are excited by the microwaves which creates heat, which can then be transferred to reaction materials passing through the sponge.”

Applications in fuel creation and carbon recycling

By selectively delivering heat to specific materials, lower overall temperatures can be used to achieve reactions which are otherwise very demanding, such as water decomposition or methane conversion, both useful to create fuel products. They can further improve selectivity by varying the pore size of the zeolite sponge, with smaller pores yielding greater efficiency and larger pores enabling greater control over reactions.

And one key advantage is that this technique can even be used in carbon capture, recycling CO2 as part of the methane conversion, and even recycling plastics more easily.

The challenge now will be in how to scale this up to encourage industrial adoption things that work in the lab don’t directly translate into large industrial settings easily. And there are some limitations to the research that would also need to be addressed first.

The material requirements are quite complex and aren’t simple or cheap to produce; it’s hard to precisely measure temperatures at the atomic scale, so current data rely on indirect evidence, and more direct means would be preferred. And, despite the improvements in efficiency, there is still room for improvement here too as there are heat and electrical losses along the way.

“We aim to expand this concept to other important chemical reactions beyond CO2 conversion and to further optimize catalyst design to improve durability and scalability. The technology is still at the laboratory stage. Scaling up will require further development of catalysts, reactor design and integration with renewable power sources,” said Kishimoto.

“While it is difficult to give an exact timeline, we expect pilot-scale demonstrations within the next decade, with broader industrial adoption depending on progress in both technology and energy infrastructure. To achieve this, we are seeking corporate partners to engage in joint development.”

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Scientists Discover “Highly Energetic” Water Hiding in Plain Sight

Water behaves differently when trapped in microscopic spaces instead of flowing freely. Researchers have shown that this confined water becomes “highly energetic,” influencing how molecules bind together.

Water is found almost everywhere on Earth. It makes up most of our planet’s surface, circulates through our bodies, and even hides in the tiniest molecular spaces. But what happens when water is trapped and unable to move freely?

Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Constructor University in Bremen have shown for the first time that confined water can actively affect its environment and strengthen the bonds between molecules. Their discovery could inspire new approaches in drug development and the creation of advanced materials. The findings were published in the International Edition of the “Angewandte Chemie” journal.

Some of the planet’s water exists within microscopic pockets, such as the binding sites of proteins or inside synthetic molecular receptors. Until now, scientists have debated whether this trapped water simply coexists with nearby molecules or actually plays a role in how they interact.

“Usually, water molecules interact most strongly with each other. However, data obtained from experiment shows that water behaves unusually in such narrow cavities,” explains Dr. Frank Biedermann from KIT’s Institute of Nanotechnology. “We now could supply the theoretical basis of these observations and prove that the water in molecular cavities is energetically activated.”

The researchers describe this condition as “highly energetic” (not because the water glows or bubbles, but because it carries more energy than ordinary water). In this state, the confined water acts a bit like people packed into a crowded elevator: as soon as the door opens, they rush to get out. Similarly, highly energetic water escapes from its cavity when another molecule arrives, pushing that molecule into the space it leaves behind. This release of energy helps strengthen the connection between the incoming molecule and the cavity itself.

Findings Allow to Predict the Binding Force

The researchers used cucurbit[8]uril as the “host” molecule. It is able to receive other molecules termed “guest” molecules and, thanks to its high degree of symmetry, it can be analyzed significantly easier than complex systems such as proteins.

“Depending on the guest molecule, computer models enabled us to calculate how much more binding force the highly energetic water yields,” explains Professor Werner Nau from Constructor University in Bremen. “We found that the more energetically activated the water is, the better it favors binding between the guest molecule and the host when it is displaced.”

Biedermann adds: “The data obtained clearly shows that the concept of highly energetic water molecules is physically founded and that those very water molecules are a central driving force during the formation of molecular bonds. Even natural antibodies, for example against SARS-CoV-2, might owe their effectiveness partly to the way how they transport water molecules into and out of their binding cavities.”

Usable for Drugs or New Materials

Biedermann’s and Nau’s findings might have a significant influence on medicine and materials sciences. For drug design, the identification of highly energetic water in target proteins opens the possibility to systematically design active agents in such a way that they displace this water, leverage its binding force, and thereby become more deeply anchored in the protein which will improve the effectiveness of the drug. In materials science, the production of cavities that push out or displace such water might improve the material’s sensing or storing performance.

For their study, the researchers combined high-precision calorimetry a method for measuring the heat released or absorbed during molecular processes with computer models created by Dr. Jeffry Setiadi and Professor Michael K. Gilson at the University of California in San Diego.

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Scientists Uncover Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Common Foods

The study uses an advanced QuEChERS–GC–MS detection method to uncover hidden carcinogens in cooking oils and meats.

Many people today are placing greater emphasis on their overall health, turning daily workouts and calorie-tracking tools into regular habits. As part of this shift, more individuals are choosing diets that feature nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.

Although these foods are widely viewed as healthy, they can still contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (hydrophobic organic compounds comprising multiple fused aromatic rings) when exposed to contamination or when cooked through heating, smoking, grilling, roasting, or frying. PAHs can enter plant-based foods (such as fruits and vegetables) through atmospheric deposition from vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, irrigation with contaminated water, or uptake from polluted soil, where they may accumulate on the surface or within edible tissues.

In animal-based foods, such as meat and fish, PAHs are often generated during processing and cooking, particularly when food is exposed directly to open flames, smoke, or very high temperatures.

Foods commonly found to contain higher levels of PAHs include:Smoked or grilled meats and fish (e.g., smoked salmon, bacon, barbecued chicken, charred beef).
Roasted or charred plant foods (roasted coffee beans, dark-roasted nuts, charred vegetables, burnt toast).
High-heat processed oils and fats (reused frying oils, highly refined vegetable oils).
Heat-processed grain products (roasted cereals, malted grains, toasted snacks).
Produce exposed to environmental pollution (leafy greens, root vegetables, and fruits grown near roadways or industrial areas).
Smoke-dried teas and herbs (black tea, green tea, certain herbal teas).

Cooking Processes That Generate PAHs

During grilling, barbecuing, and pan frying, PAHs can form from the incomplete combustion of fats and other organic components and tend to concentrate in charred or heavily browned areas. Smoked and roasted products, including smoked meats, smoked fish, certain cheeses, and roasted coffee, frequently show measurable PAH levels. Processed foods that undergo intensive thermal treatment, such as some baked goods and cereal products, can also contain PAHs, especially when surfaces are darkly browned.

Because certain PAHs are known carcinogens, their presence in such a wide variety of foods raises important public health concerns and highlights the need for monitoring and mitigation across the food supply chain.

To protect consumers, it has become essential to efficiently extract, identify, and measure PAHs in food. Common extraction methods, including solid-phase, liquid-liquid, and accelerated solvent extraction, are generally affordable but often slow, labor intensive, and not environmentally friendly.

In recent years, researchers have highlighted the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) method as a promising alternative for isolating organic compounds. This approach shortens analysis time, increases accuracy and recovery, and simplifies the overall preparation process, offering a safer and more dependable option for PAH testing.

Significance and Industrial Impact

Prof. Lee reveals, “This method not only simplifies the analytical process but also demonstrates high efficiency in detection compared to conventional methods. It can be applied to a wide range of food matrices.”

In the industrial sector, this method could be used for inspecting food products for safety management. Furthermore, it is expected to lead to cost reduction and improved safety for workers.

“Our research can improve public health by providing safe food. It also reduces the use and emission of hazardous chemicals in laboratory testing,” concludes Prof. Lee.

Overall, this study showcases that the developed PAH analysis method based on the QuEChERS approach is environmentally friendly, rapid, and accurate.

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Scientists Develop More Efficient Way To Extract Rare Earth Elements Amid Global Trade Tensions

Researchers at UT Austin have created artificial membrane channels that mimic nature’s precision to selectively extract key rare earth elements.

A team of scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has created a cleaner and more efficient way to extract rare earth elements, which are vital for technologies such as electric vehicle batteries and smartphones. The technique could strengthen domestic production and lessen dependence on expensive imports.

The new process makes it possible to separate and collect rare earth elements from sources that were previously too difficult or inefficient to use, offering a potential solution to supply challenges heightened by global trade tensions.

“Rare earth elements are the backbone of advanced technologies, but their extraction and purification are energy intensive and extremely difficult to implement at the scales required,” said Manish Kumar, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering. “Our work aims to change that, inspired by the natural world.”​

The study, recently published in ACS Nano, describes how the team engineered artificial membrane channels, tiny pores within membranes, that imitate the highly selective transport systems of natural proteins in living organisms. In biology, such channels guide ions as they move between cells.

Each channel has unique properties that allow only ions with specific traits to pass through while blocking others. This fine-tuned selectivity is essential for many biological functions, including the way the human brain processes information.

Designing Artificial Gatekeepers

The researchers’ artificial channels use a modified version of a structure called pillararene to enhance their ability to bind and block specific common ions while transporting specific rare earth ions. The result is a system that can selectively transport middle rare earth elements, such as europium (Eu³⁺) and terbium (Tb³⁺), while excluding other ions like potassium, sodium, and calcium.​

“Nature has perfected the art of selective transport through biological membranes,” said Venkat Ganesan, professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and one of the research leaders.​ “These artificial channels are like tiny gatekeepers, allowing only the desired ions to pass through.”

Rare earth elements are split into several classes (light, middle and heavy), each with different properties that make them ideal for specific applications. Middle elements are used in lighting and displays, including TVs, and as magnets in green energy technologies, such as wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the European Commission have identified several middle elements, including europium and terbium, as critical materials at risk of supply disruption.​ With demand for these elements expected to grow by over 2,600% by 2035, finding sustainable ways to extract and recycle them is more urgent than ever.

Remarkable Selectivity and Efficiency

In experiments, the artificial channels showed a 40-fold preference for europium over lanthanum (a light rare earth element) and a 30-fold preference for europium over ytterbium (a heavy rare earth element).​ These selectivity levels are significantly higher than those achieved by traditional solvent-based methods that require dozens of stages to achieve similar results.​

Using advanced computer simulations, they discovered that the channels’ selectivity is driven by unique water-mediated interactions between the rare earth ions and the channel.​ These interactions allow the channels to differentiate between ions based on their hydration dynamics how water molecules surround and interact with ions.​

Kumar and his team have been working on this research for more than five years. He is an expert in membrane-based separations, applying that knowledge to clean water generation as well.

The researchers envision their technology being integrated into scalable membrane systems for industrial use.​ The goal is to make it easier to conduct ion separations in the U.S., using clean energy.

They’re working on a platform for these channels that allows users to select a variety of ions to gather. This could include other critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, gallium, and nickel.

This is a first step towards translating nature’s sophisticated molecular recognition and transport strategies into robust industrial processes, thus bringing high selectivity to settings where current methods fall short,” said Harekrushna Behera, a research associate in Kumar’s lab who worked on the project.

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From Plastic to Pure Water: Scientists Turn Trash Into a Super Catalyst

An optimized mechanochemical process produces multifunctional composite particles that remove pollutants from water.

Scientists are increasingly turning to sunlight as a powerful ally in cleaning up polluted water. Photocatalysts can harness solar energy to break down harmful contaminants, while photothermal evaporation uses that same energy to rapidly heat and vaporize dirty water, which then condenses into clean, drinkable liquid. Despite their promise, both methods often rely on expensive or difficult-to-manufacture materials that limit their large-scale use. This has sparked a global effort to create a single, affordable, and efficient material capable of performing multiple purification tasks ideally one made from resources that would otherwise go to waste.

In a groundbreaking development, researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) in Japan have found a way to turn common plastic waste into a powerful new tool for producing clean water. Led by Associate Professor Takashi Shirai, the team consisting of Dr. Kunihiko Kato, Dr. Yunzi Xin, and Mr. Yuping Xu has created multifunctional composite particles that can both purify and desalinate water using sunlight.

Mechanochemical Synthesis Using a Planetary Ball Mill

To create this innovative material, the researchers used a planetary ball mill and carefully optimized the milling process. They began with a simple mixture of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) and polypropylene, a common plastic found in packaging and household goods.

Through precise mechanical processing, they converted this waste-derived mixture into composite particles containing hydrogen molybdenum bronze (HxMoO3–y), molybdenum dioxide (MoO2), and activated carbon materials that work together to capture sunlight and drive multiple purification reactions.

“The proposed mechanochemical process surpasses other current approaches in terms of both energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” highlights Dr. Shirai.

Through extensive experimentation, the research team demonstrated the many remarkable capabilities of their composites. First, these particles exhibited broad light absorption over the entire near-infrared–visible–ultraviolet range, allowing the photocatalytic degradation of a model organic pollutant. Interestingly, the composites also functioned as Brønsted acid catalysts and removed water pollutants even in the absence of light.

Harnessing Plasmonic and Photothermal Effects

Additionally, the proposed catalyst exhibited plasmonic properties leading to a marked photothermal effect that enabled rapid heating using sunlight. This could be leveraged to drive the fast evaporation of water with exceptional photothermal conversion efficiency. Finally, oxygen-containing carbons that remained as milling byproducts could adsorb and remove heavy metal ions from wastewater.

The research team plans to refine their ball milling process to produce similar all-in-one catalysts for water remediation and other applications. “Our developed technology has the potential to be applied to a wide range of oxides and plastics, and we anticipate that it will have varied applications, including enhancing the functionality of existing materials and upcycling waste plastics, to secure the availability of drinking water,” concludes Dr. Shirai.

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This Common Metal Has an Unusual Power

A new manganese(I) complex sets a record for the longest excited-state lifetime, opening the door to future large-scale applications in photochemistry.

Chemical reactions are often powered by heat, but scientists have increasingly turned to light as an energy source because it allows reactions to be guided with remarkable precision. This light-based process is called photochemistry.

Until recently, photochemical reactions depended on rare and costly metals such as ruthenium, osmium, or iridium, which also pose environmental challenges during extraction. Now, researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have created a groundbreaking metal complex that uses manganese an element that is both abundant and inexpensive.

“This metal complex sets a new standard in photochemistry: it combines a record-breaking excited-state lifetime with simple synthesis,” stated Professor Katja Heinze from the JGU Department of Chemistry. “It thus offers a powerful and sustainable alternative to the noble metal complexes that have long dominated light-driven chemistry.”

Single-step synthesis and strong absorption

Although manganese is more than 100,000 times more common on Earth than ruthenium, its use in photochemistry has long been limited. This was largely due to the complex, multi-step synthesis process, often requiring nine or ten stages, and the very short lifetime of its excited state.

“The newly developed manganese complex overcomes both challenges,” explained Dr. Nathan East, a former doctoral student in the Heinze group who carried out the original synthesis. The new material is synthesized directly from commercially available starting materials in just a single synthesis step.

In addition to manganese, the researchers use a ligand, which allows the properties of the complex to be tuned.

“The combination of a colorless manganese salt and the colorless ligand in solution immediately produces a deep purple color, just like ink. This is a very unusual color for a manganese complex, which showed us that something unique was happening,” added Sandra Kronenberger, who further investigated this novel manganese complex as a doctoral student in the Heinze group at the Max Planck Graduate Center (MPGC).

The resulting manganese complex not only looks impressive, it also exhibits remarkable properties: “Its light absorption is exceptionally strong, meaning the probability of capturing a light particle is very high the complex thus uses light very efficiently,” explained Dr. Christoph Förster, who supported the project with quantum chemical calculations.

Excited state lifetime exceeds the 190-nanosecond mark

“The lifetime of the complex of 190 nanoseconds is also remarkable. This is two orders of magnitude longer than any previously known complexes containing common metals such as iron or manganese,” said lead scientist and spectroscopist Dr. Robert Naumann, who characterized the dynamics of the excited state of the complex using luminescence spectroscopy.

In photochemistry, the catalyst, in this case the manganese complex, is excited by light. When it encounters another molecule through diffusion, it transfers an electron to it. Since it can take nanoseconds for the particles to find each other, the excited state must last as long as possible.

But does the complex actually do what the researchers hope it will, i.e., transfer an electron to another molecule? “We were able to detect the initial product of the photoreaction the electron transfer that occurred and thus prove that the complex reacts as desired,” summarized Professor Katja Heinze.

This discovery expands the boundaries of sustainable photochemistry. Thanks to its scalable one-step synthesis, efficient light absorption, robust photophysical behavior, and long-lasting excited state, the new manganese-containing material paves the way for future large-scale applications of photoreactions. This could be important for future applications, for example, for sustainable hydrogen production.

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Nanotechnology: Transforming Science, Materials, Medicine, and the Future

Nanotechnology is the science and engineering of materials at the nanoscale (1–100 nm), where atoms and molecules exhibit unique physical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties. At this scale, matter behaves differently gold turns red, carbon becomes stronger than steel, and simple particles become powerful tools for medicine, electronics, and energy innovation.

Nanotechnology is now revolutionizing fields such as healthcare, environmental science, electronics, renewable energy, food technology, and materials engineering.



🔬 What Is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology involves the design, manipulation, and application of extremely small materials and devices. Because nanoscale structures have a high surface area and quantum effects, they show enhanced:

• Reactivity
• Strength
• Electrical conductivity
• Catalytic activity
• Optical properties

These special features allow scientists to create advanced materials and tools that are impossible at the macroscale.

📌 Key Applications of Nanotechnology

1️⃣ Nanomedicine: Smart Solutions for Diagnosis & Therapy

Nanoparticles are used for targeted drug delivery, biosensing, imaging, and cancer treatment.
Examples:

• Gold nanoparticles for photothermal therapy
• Lipid nanoparticles in mRNA vaccines
• Quantum dots for medical imaging

2️⃣ Nanoelectronics: Smaller, Faster, Smarter Devices

Nanotechnology is the backbone of modern electronics, enabling ultra-miniaturized circuits, memory devices, and transistors.
Examples:

• Carbon nanotube transistors
• Nanoscale semiconductors
• Quantum computing components

3️⃣ Nanomaterials: Strength, Lightness, and Performance

Engineered nanomaterials outperform traditional materials by offering high mechanical strength, thermal stability, and conductivity.
Examples:

• Graphene: strongest 2D material
• Carbon nanotubes
• Nanocellulose

4️⃣ Environmental Nanotechnology: A Cleaner Planet

Nanomaterials help purify water, reduce pollution, and support green chemistry solutions.
Examples:

• Nano-adsorbents for heavy metal removal
• Nanocatalysts for CO₂ conversion
• Nanofiltration membranes

5️⃣ Energy Nanotechnology: Powering the Future

Nanomaterials increase the efficiency of batteries, fuel cells, and solar panels.
Examples:

• Silicon nanowire anodes
• Perovskite nanocrystals
• Platinum-free nanocatalysts

6️⃣ Food and Agriculture Nanotech

Enhancing food safety, nutrient delivery, and smart packaging.
Examples:

• Nano-sensors detecting spoilage
• Controlled fertilizer release
• Antimicrobial nano-coatings

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Scientists Discover a Potential Bacterial Solution to “Forever Chemicals”

A photosynthetic bacterium shows promise in capturing PFAS, offering new hope for microbial cleanup of “forever chemicals.”

Researchers from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Engineering are turning to an unexpected source in their effort to combat toxic “forever chemicals.”

In the laboratories of Rajib Saha and Nirupam Aich, scientists identified that a widely found photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, can interact with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most persistent PFAS compounds. Their research, featured in Environmental Science: Advances, revealed that the bacterium absorbs PFOA into its cell membrane, with this interaction changing over time.

This finding offers key insight into how naturally occurring microbes might eventually be used to help break down PFAS, presenting a promising path toward cleaner water and a healthier environment.

Experimental findings and early limitations

During controlled experiments, the researchers found that R. palustris was able to remove about 44% of PFOA from its surrounding medium within 20 days. However, a significant portion of the chemical was later released, most likely as a result of cell lysis, underscoring both the potential and current limitations of using living microorganisms to capture or transform PFAS.

“While R. palustris didn’t completely degrade the chemical, our findings suggest a stepwise mechanism where the bacterium may initially trap PFOA in its membranes,” said Saha, Richard L. and Carol S. McNeel Associate Professor. “This gives us a foundation to explore future genetic or systems biology interventions that could improve retention or even enable biotransformation.”

Cross-lab collaboration and interdisciplinary insights

The Aich Lab contributed expertise in PFAS detection, enabling precise chemical analysis of PFOA concentrations and behavior over time. Meanwhile, Saha’s team performed experiments, helping interpret the organism’s reaction to varying PFAS concentrations.

“This kind of collaboration is exactly what’s needed to address complex environmental challenges,” said Aich, Richard L. McNeel Associate Professor. “By bringing together microbiology, chemical engineering, and environmental analytical science, we’re gaining a more complete picture of how to tackle PFAS pollution with biological tools.”

PFAS contamination has become a global concern due to its persistence in water and soil. Current treatment methods are costly and energy-intensive. Harnessing microbial systems offers a potentially lower-impact, scalable solution though much work remains to be done.

This research marks a promising step toward that goal, and the teams are already exploring follow-up studies involving microbial engineering and synthetic biology to enhance degradation potential.

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Chemists Discover Unexpected New Way to Use DNA

Scientists at NUS have found that DNA’s phosphate groups can guide chemical reactions like molecular “hands.”

Chemists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered an unexpected way to use deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Beyond its role as the carrier of genetic information, DNA can also serve as a powerful tool to make the production of medicinal compounds more efficient. The team found that specific parts of DNA, known as phosphates, can act like tiny “hands” that help guide chemical reactions, ensuring that the process produces the desired mirror-image form of a molecule.

Many medicines are chiral, which means their molecules exist in two mirror-image forms  similar to how right and left hands reflect each other. These two versions can have dramatically different effects in the body. Often, only one version of a drug is beneficial, while the other may be ineffective or even harmful. Producing just the correct form is a major challenge in pharmaceutical chemistry. The NUS team’s DNA-based method offers a simpler and more environmentally friendly way to achieve this selectivity.

In nature, DNA and proteins naturally attract one another because of their opposite charges. DNA’s phosphate groups carry negative charges, while many of the building blocks that make up proteins are positively charged. The researchers, led by Assistant Professor Zhu Ru-Yi from the NUS Department of Chemistry, investigated whether this natural electrostatic attraction could be harnessed to steer chemical reactions toward specific outcomes and generate the desired products.

Pinpointing DNA’s Active Sites

They discovered that certain phosphate groups in DNA can attract and guide positively charged reactants during a chemical reaction. This is similar to a magnet gently pulling a metal bead into the correct orientation. This “ion-pairing” effect holds the reactants close and in a particular orientation, steering the reaction in a specific way to produce only one mirror-image product. The team demonstrated this effect across several different types of chemical reactions.

To understand exactly which parts of DNA were responsible, the researchers developed a new experimental method called “PS scanning”. The researchers systematically replaced individual phosphates along DNA with closely related look‑alikes, then repeated the reactions.

If changing a particular position caused the selectivity to drop, it indicated that the original phosphate at that site was important for guiding the reaction. Computer simulations were carried out in collaboration with Professor Zhang Xinglong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong to validate these findings.

Toward Greener and Smarter Chemical Manufacturing

Asst Prof Zhu said, “Nature never uses DNA phosphates as catalysts, but we have shown that if designed properly, they can act like artificial enzymes.”

“Beyond being a conceptual breakthrough, this method could make chemical manufacturing more sustainable and environmentally friendly, especially for producing complex, high-value molecules used in pharmaceutical products,” added Asst Prof Zhu.

Looking ahead, the team plans to explore more ways to use DNA phosphates to create chiral (mirror-image) compounds for drug development.

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Scientists Discover Simple, Eco-Friendly Way to Break Down Teflon

Scientists have found a clean, low-energy way to recycle Teflon using only sodium and motion.

New scientific findings reveal a straightforward and environmentally friendly approach for breaking down Teflon, one of the most resilient plastics on Earth, into valuable chemical components.

A team of scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham has created a clean, energy-efficient process for recycling Teflon (PTFE), a material widely recognized for its role in non-stick cookware and other uses that require exceptional heat and chemical resistance.

The study shows that discarded Teflon can be transformed into reusable materials using only sodium metal and mechanical motion (movement by shaking) at room temperature, all without the need for harmful solvents.

Detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) on 22 October, the research introduces a low-energy, waste-free method that provides a new alternative to traditional fluorine recycling techniques.

Dr. Roly Armstrong, Lecturer in Chemistry at Newcastle University and corresponding author said: “The process we have discovered breaks the strong carbon–fluorine bonds in Teflon, converting it into sodium fluoride which is used in fluoride toothpastes and added to drinking water.

Turning Waste Into Resources

“Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Teflon are produced globally each year it’s used in everything from lubricants to coatings on cookware, and currently there are very few ways to get rid of it. As those products come to the end of their lives, they currently end up in landfill but this process allows us to extract the fluorine and upcycle it into useful new materials.”

Associate Professor Dr. Erli Lu, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Fluorine is a vital element in modern life it’s found in around one-third of all new medicines and in many advanced materials. Yet fluorine is traditionally obtained through energy-intensive and heavily polluting mining and chemical processes. Our method shows that we can recover it from everyday waste and reuse it directly turning a disposal problem into a resource opportunity.”

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), best known by the brand name Teflon, is prized for its resistance to heat and chemicals, making it ideal for cookware, electronics, and laboratory equipment, but those same properties make it almost impossible to recycle.

When burned or incinerated, PTFE releases persistent pollutants known as ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS), which remain in the environment for decades. Traditional disposal methods, therefore, raise major environmental and health concerns.

Mechanochemistry: A Green Solution

The research team tackled this challenge using mechanochemistry – a green approach that drives chemical reactions by applying mechanical energy instead of heat.

Inside a sealed steel container known as a ball mill, sodium metal fragments are ground with Teflon, which causes them to react at room temperature. The process breaks the strong carbon–fluorine bonds in Teflon, converting it into harmless carbon and sodium fluoride, a stable inorganic salt which is widely used in fluoride toothpastes.

The researchers then showed that the sodium fluoride recovered in this way can also be used directly, without purification, to create other valuable fluorine-containing molecules. These include compounds used in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and other fine chemicals.

Associate Professor Dr. Dominik Kubicki, who leads the University of Birmingham’s solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) team, commented: “We used advanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy – one of our specialties at Birmingham – to look inside the reaction mixture at the atomic level. This allowed us to prove that the process produces clean sodium fluoride without any by-products. It’s a perfect example of how state-of-the-art materials characterization can accelerate progress toward sustainability.”

A Blueprint for a Circular Fluorine Economy

The discovery provides a blueprint for a circular economy for fluorine, in which valuable elements are recovered from industrial waste rather than discarded. This could significantly reduce the environmental footprint of fluorine-based chemicals, which are vital in medicine, electronics, and renewable-energy technologies.

“Our approach is simple, fast, and uses inexpensive materials,” said Dr. Lu. “We hope it will inspire further work on reusing other kinds of fluorinated waste and help make the production of vital fluorine-containing compounds more sustainable.”

The work also highlights the growing importance of mechanochemistry an emerging branch of green chemistry that replaces high-temperature or solvent-intensive reactions with simple mechanical motion as a tool for sustainable innovation.

Dr. Kubicki added: “This research shows how interdisciplinary science, combining materials chemistry with advanced spectroscopy, can turn one of the most persistent plastics into something useful again. It’s a small but important step toward sustainable fluorine chemistry.”

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Scientists Create an Artificial “Leaf” That Turns CO₂ Into Useful Products

Researchers at Cambridge have developed a solar-powered device that imitates photosynthesis to turn CO2, sunlight, and water into valuable chemical fuels.

Their non-toxic “semi-artificial leaf” can run continuously and efficiently, producing pharmaceutical compounds with high purity. The discovery could help replace fossil fuels in chemical manufacturing and spark a new era of green chemistry.

Sustainable Chemistry Breakthrough

Scientists have found a sustainable new method for producing the essential chemicals that make up thousands of products we use every day, including plastics and cosmetics.

The global chemical industry manufactures an enormous range of compounds by transforming raw materials, most often fossil fuels, into finished goods. Because of its vast scale and reliance on these carbon-heavy resources, the sector is responsible for around 6% of global carbon emissions.

Now, a team led by the University of Cambridge is working on innovative techniques that could eventually “de-fossilize” this crucial industry and make chemical production far more sustainable.

The Semi-Artificial Leaf

The researchers have designed a hybrid system that joins light-absorbing organic polymers with bacterial enzymes to transform sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into formate a clean fuel that can drive other chemical reactions.

This “semi-artificial leaf” imitates photosynthesis, the natural process plants use to capture and store solar energy, and it operates entirely without an external power supply. Unlike earlier versions that relied on unstable or toxic materials, this new biohybrid model is safer, more durable, and doesn’t require additional additives that can reduce performance.

Turning CO2 Into Valuable Chemicals

During testing, the team successfully used sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into formate and then applied that formate directly in a “domino” sequence of reactions to create an important pharmaceutical compound, achieving impressive yield and purity.

Their results, reported in the journal Joule, mark the first time that organic semiconductors have been used as the light-harvesting component in this type of biohybrid device, opening the door to a new family of sustainable artificial leaves.

The chemical industry is central to the world economy, producing products from pharmaceuticals and fertilizers, to plastics, paints, electronics, cleaning products, and toiletries.

“If we’re going to build a circular, sustainable economy, the chemical industry is a big, complex problem that we must address,” said Professor Erwin Reisner from Cambridge’s Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, who led the research. “We’ve got to come up with ways to de-fossilize this important sector, which produces so many important products we all need. It’s a huge opportunity if we can get it right.”

A Cleaner Approach to Artificial Photosynthesis

Reisner’s research group specializes in the development of artificial leaves, which turn sunlight into carbon-based fuels and chemicals without relying on fossil fuels. But many of their earlier designs depend on synthetic catalysts or inorganic semiconductors, which either degrade quickly, waste much of the solar spectrum, or contain toxic elements such as lead.

“If we can remove the toxic components and start using organic elements, we end up with a clean chemical reaction and a single end product, without any unwanted side reactions,” said co-first author Dr. Celine Yeung, who completed the research as part of her PhD work in Reisner’s lab. “This device combines the best of both worlds – organic semiconductors are tuneable and non-toxic, while biocatalysts are highly selective and efficient.”

The new device integrates organic semiconductors with enzymes from sulfate-reducing bacteria, splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen or converting carbon dioxide into formate.

Cracking the Enzyme Stability Puzzle

The researchers have also addressed a long-standing challenge: most systems require chemical additives, known as buffers, to keep the enzymes running. These can break down quickly and limit stability. By embedding a helper enzyme, carbonic anhydrase, into a porous titania structure, the researchers enabled the system to work in a simple bicarbonate solution similar to sparkling water without unsustainable additives.

“It’s like a big puzzle,” said co-first author Dr. Yongpeng Liu, a postdoctoral researcher in Reisner’s lab. “We have all these different components that we’ve been trying to bring together for a single purpose. It took us a long time to figure out how this specific enzyme is immobilized on an electrode, but we’re now starting to see the fruits from these efforts.”

“By really studying how the enzyme works, we were able to precisely design the materials that make up the different layers of our sandwich-like device,” said Yeung. “This design made the parts work together more effectively, from the tiny nanoscale up to the full artificial leaf.”

Record Efficiency and Durability

Tests showed the artificial leaf produced high currents and achieved near-perfect efficiency in directing electrons into fuel-making reactions. The device successfully ran for over 24 hours: more than twice as long as previous designs.

The researchers are hoping to further develop their designs to extend the lifespan of the device and adapt it so it can produce different types of chemical products.

“We’ve shown it’s possible to create solar-powered devices that are not only efficient and durable but also free from toxic or unsustainable components,” said Reisner. “This could be a fundamental platform for producing green fuels and chemicals in future – it’s a real opportunity to do some exciting and important chemistry.”

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Creepy Science That’s Changing the World in Surprising Ways

From mini-brains and spider-inspired gloves to edible wolf apple coatings and microplastic-filled retinas, scientists are transforming creepy concepts into life-improving innovations. Lab-grown brain organoids could replace animal testing, web-slinging gloves can spin instant wound dressings, and wolf apple starch may keep veggies fresh longer. Meanwhile, the discovery of microplastics in human eyes reveals a haunting truth about our environment’s reach inside us.

Lab-Grown “Mini-Brains” Offer New Insight into the Human Mind

Scientists writing in ACS Sensors have successfully grown a small brain organoid in a petri dish, creating a powerful new tool for studying how nerve cells interact without the use of animal testing. Over two years, human nerve cells multiplied and organized themselves into a three-dimensional “mini-brain” that displayed electrical activity similar to real brain tissue. Researchers say this breakthrough could help scientists better understand how the human brain communicates and functions or, as they joke, provide “a lab-grown lunch option for zombies.”

Spider-Inspired Glove Spins Instant Wound Dressings

Taking inspiration from spiders, scientists designed a glove equipped with tiny spinneret-like devices that can shoot out fine polymer fibers. The glove, described in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, allows users to create custom wound dressings directly in the air. This portable system could be used by medical teams in hospitals, sports arenas, or military settings to apply quick, sterile coverings for injuries (pun intended, no radioactive spiders involved).

Wolf Apple Coating Keeps Produce Fresh Longer

In ACS Food Science & Technology, researchers report that starch extracted from the wolf apple a resilient Brazilian fruit and favorite snack of the maned wolf can be used to create a natural, edible coating that helps food stay fresh. When applied to baby carrots, the coating preserved their color and quality for up to 15 days at room temperature. The wolf apple-based material could offer an inexpensive and food-safe alternative to synthetic preservatives, whether or not the moon is full.

Microplastics Discovered in Human Retinas

A study published in ACS Environmental Science & Technology Letters found that microplastics have made their way into one of the body’s most delicate structures: the retina. Researchers examined 12 post-mortem human eyes (no eye of newt required) and found various types and amounts of plastic particles in every sample. These findings provide an important starting point for future studies exploring how microplastics might affect eye health and vision.

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Researchers Crack Decades-Old Chemistry Challenge

A computational method accurately predicts the optimal ligand for a photochemical palladium catalyst, enabling new radical reactions of alkyl ketones.

Ketones are common components in many organic molecules, and chemists are continually exploring new ways to use them in forming chemical bonds. One particularly difficult reaction involves the one-electron reduction of ketones to produce ketyl radicals. These radicals are highly reactive intermediates that play a key role in natural product synthesis and pharmaceutical development.

However, most existing techniques work best for aryl ketones, while simple alkyl ketones remain difficult to manipulate. Although alkyl ketones are much more prevalent, their chemical structure makes them significantly harder to reduce.

In response to this challenge, a team of organic and computational chemists from WPI-ICReDD at Hokkaido University has created a new catalytic method that successfully generates alkyl ketyl radicals. Their findings were published on October 20, 2025, in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and are freely available as open-access research.

The WPI-ICReDD group had previously shown that a palladium catalyst paired with phosphine ligands could drive photochemical reactions (activated by shining light) with aryl ketones. However, this system did not work with alkyl ketones. Their experiments indicated that while alkyl ketyl radicals could initially form, they quickly transferred an electron back to the palladium catalyst a process known as back electron transfer (BET) before any further reaction could take place. As a result, the starting material remained unchanged.

Computational Chemistry to the Rescue

Just like in conventional palladium catalysis, the reactivity of photoexcited palladium catalysts depends greatly on the type of phosphine ligand used. Therefore, the team hypothesized they could identify an appropriate phosphine ligand capable of engendering reactivity towards alkyl ketones.

However, since thousands of phosphine ligands are known, identifying the optimal one for an unknown reaction through experimentation alone would be difficult, time-consuming, and environmentally burdensome due to chemical waste.

The researchers effectively circumvented these issues utilizing computational chemistry to efficiently search for optimal ligands with minimal experiments. Specifically, they employed the Virtual Ligand-Assisted Screening (VLAS) method developed by Associate Professor Wataru Matsuoka and Professor Satoshi Maeda from WPI-ICReDD. For 38 different phosphine ligands, the VLAS generated a heat map that predicted which ligands could best engender reactivity based on their electronics and sterics.

Based on this heat map, the team selected just three promising ligands for experimental testing and successfully identified L4 as the optimal ligand tris(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphine (P(p-OMe-C₆H₄)₃). Using this ligand effectively suppressed BET, enabling the generation of ketyl radicals from alkyl ketones and achieving versatile reactions with high yield.

This work provides chemists with facile access to alkyl ketyl radical reactivity and highlights the effectiveness of VLAS to rapidly develop and optimize new chemical reactions.

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