Oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is of importance in both organic chemistry and chemical industry because the oxidation products can be used to prepare various pharmaceuticals and useful chemicals. Photocatalytic oxidation process has been considered as a sustainable technology to achieve the selective oxidation under ambient conditions with irradiation from solar light.
Plasmon-enhanced molecular spectroscopies have attracted tremendous attention as powerful detection tools with ultrahigh sensitivity down to the single-molecule level. The optical response of molecules in the vicinity of nanostructures with plasmon resonance would be dramatically enhanced through interactions with plasmons. However, beyond the signal amplification, the molecule-plasmon interaction also inevitably induce strong modifications in the spectral lineshapes and distort the implied chemical information of molecules.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., May 19, 2020--For the first time, seismologists can characterize signals as a result of some industrial human activity on a continent-wide scale using cloud computing. In two recently published papers in Seismological Research Letters, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory demonstrate how previously characterized "noise" can now be viewed as a specific signal in a large geographical area thanks to an innovative approach to seismic data analyses.
Zombies or enemies flashing right before your eyes and the dizzying feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff using virtual reality and augmented reality (AR and VR) are no longer exclusive to the games or media industries. Those technologies allow us to conduct virtual conferences, share presentations and videos, and communicate in real time in the virtual space. But because of the high cost and bulkiness of VR and AR devices, the virtual world is not within easy reach.
For decades, scientists have explored the use of liposomes -- hollow spheres made of lipid bilayers -- to deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumor cells. But drugs can sometimes leak out of liposomes before they reach their destination, reducing the dose received by the tumor and causing side effects in healthy tissues. Now, researchers report in ACS' Nano Letters a way to stabilize liposomes by embedding a stiff nanobowl in their inner cavity.
Scientists have created the first ever large-scale map of microscopic algae as they bloomed across the surface of snow along the Antarctic Peninsula coast. Results indicate that this 'green snow' is likely to spread as global temperatures increase.
Observations made with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have revealed the telltale signs of a star system being born. Around the young star AB Aurigae lies a dense disc of dust and gas in which astronomers have spotted a prominent spiral structure with a 'twist' that marks the site where a planet may be forming. The observed feature could be the first direct evidence of a baby planet coming into existence.
Tsukuba, Japan - Development, growth and reproduction are highly regulated in all animals. One of the key components of these processes is the precise action of steroid hormones. In a new study, researchers from the University of Tsukuba uncovered a regulatory pathway that controls ecdysteroid biosynthesis, a steroid hormone in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, to enable proper body size adjustment during development transition from growth to maturation.
Tests on new designs for next-gen solar cells can now be done in hours instead of days thanks to a new system built by scientists at Australia’s Monash University, incorporating 3D-printed key components.
The machine can analyse 16 sample perovskite-based solar cells simultaneously, in parallel, dramatically speeding up the process.
The invention means that the performance and commercial potential of new compounds can be very rapidly evaluated, significantly speeding up the development process.
Speciation is the process by which new species forms and is the driving force of biodiversity. Since Darwin published On the Origin of Species, great efforts have been performed without interruption to explore the pattern and mechanism of speciation. It is well acknowledged that determining the forms of reproductive isolation and their relative importance in species divergence is of critical importance for our understanding of speciation.