Lifeboat Foundation

A professor at the University of Warwick is exploring the chemistry of the galaxy far, far away this Star Wars Day, May the 4th.

Science fiction is meeting science fact, as Professor Alex Baker discusses the captivating inspiration real-world reactions have had on the Star Wars universe.

The chemist from the University of Warwick explores what may underpin the freezing of Han Solo, the colors of lightsabers, the reactions that power star ships and much more.

The organic electrochemical transistor stands out as a tool for constructing powerful biosensors owing to its high signal transduction ability and adaptability to various geometrical forms. However, the performance of organic electrochemical transistors relies on stable and seamless interfaces with biological systems. This Review examines strategies to improve and optimize interfaces between organic electrochemical transistors and various biological components.

Partly because of semiconductors, electronic devices and systems become more advanced and sophisticated every day. That’s why for decades researchers have studied ways to improve semiconductor compounds to influence how they carry electrical current. One approach is to use isotopes to change the physical, chemical and technological properties of materials.

Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and thus different masses. Isotope engineering has traditionally focused on enhancing so-called bulk materials that have uniform properties in three dimensions, or 3D.

But new research led by ORNL has advanced the frontier of isotope engineering where current is confined in two dimensions, or 2D, inside flat crystals and where a layer is only a few atoms thick. The 2D materials are promising because their ultrathin nature could allow for precise control over their electronic properties.

A research team at the University of Pittsburgh led by Alexander Star, a chemistry professor in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has developed a fentanyl sensor that is six orders of magnitude more sensitive than any electrochemical sensor for the drug reported in the past five years. The portable sensor can also tell the difference between fentanyl and other opioids.

The new method developed by the Swedish researchers utilizes artificial intelligence for rapid and cost-effective assessment of chemical toxicity. It can therefore be used to identify toxic substances at an early phase and help reduce the need for animal testing.

“Our method is able to predict whether a substance is toxic or not based on its chemical structure. It has been developed and refined by analyzing large datasets from laboratory tests performed in the past. The method has thereby been trained to make accurate assessments for previously untested chemicals,” says Mikael Gustavsson, researcher at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology, and at the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.

“There are currently more than 100,000 chemicals on the market, but only a small part of these have a well-described toxicity towards humans or the environment. To assess the toxicity of all these chemicals using conventional methods, including animal testing, is not practically possible. Here, we see that our method can offer a new alternative,” says Erik Kristiansson, professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers and at the University of Gothenburg.

For the first time, chemists in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering have created a highly reactive chemical compound that has eluded scientists for more than 120 years. The discovery could lead to new drug treatments, safer agricultural products, and better electronics. The study is published in Science.

A QUT-led team of international researchers has made a breakthrough in the development of a type of battery that is much safer and cheaper than the batteries currently charging our smart devices.

The research, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society, has demonstrated a way of improving the voltage of aqueous zinc-ion batteries, which are a type of rechargeable battery which have a water-based electrolyte.

QUT researchers involved in the study are Professor Ziqi Sun, Associate Professor Dongchen Qi, and Fan Zhang from the School of Chemistry and Physics, Professor Ting Liao and Professor Cheng Yan from the School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering and Dr Aaron Micallef from the Central Analytical Research Facility.

Now Princeton researchers have sparked new life into static. Using millions of hours of computational time to run detailed simulations, the researchers found a way to describe static charge atom-by-atom with the mathematics of heat and work. Their paper appeared in Nature Communications on March 23.

The study looked specifically at how charge moves between materials that do not allow the free flow of electrons, called insulating materials, such as vinyl and acrylic. The researchers said there is no established view on what mechanisms drive these jolts, despite the ubiquity of static: the crackle and pop of clothes pulled from a dryer, packing peanuts that cling to a box.

“We know it’s not electrons,” said Mike Webb, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, who led the study. “What is it?”

Nuclear energy has long been regarded as a next-generation energy source, and major countries around the world are competing to secure cutting-edge technologies by leveraging the high economic efficiency and sustainability of nuclear power. However, uranium, which is essential for nuclear power generation, has serious implications for both soil ecosystems and human health.

Despite being a key radioactive material, uranium poses significant health risks due to its chemical toxicity to the kidneys, bones, and cells. As a result, both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization recommend allowing and advocating for uranium concentrations in wastewater to be below 30 μg/L.

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has conducted research on a nano-material-based adsorption process to efficiently remove uranium wastewater extracted from actual radioactive-contaminated soil. They have also proposed its applicability to prevent secondary environmental pollutions.