The great fluoride debate
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
Apocalyptic visions and global conspiracies were the mainstay of...
Read More >>Unlocking the mystery of chain-branching mechanisms
FUNDAMENTALS
Many organic reactions, including industrially significant reactions in biomass processing and petroleum refining, involve chemical...
Read More >>To cut back on carbon-based fuels, get heavy on the metal
MATERIALS SCIENCE
When it comes to technological alternatives designed to wean our economy off carbon-based energy sources, metal fuels definitely count among...
Read More >>Tapping into the hidden chemistry of maple syrup
BIOCHEMISTRY
Don Weaver, a chemist and director of the Krembil Research Institute within Toronto’s University Health Network, recently found occasion...
Read More >>Cleaning up oil sands tailings with gamma irradiation
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
An investigation that began as a straightforward chemical analysis of oil sands tailings has yielded a patented method for turning this tainted material into a rich biological habitat.
Read More >>Using DNA as a printing press to create nanostructures
BIOCHEMISTRY
Just as hydrocarbons ranked as perhaps the most influential family of complex molecules in the 20th century, DNA may well be on its way to claiming that title for the 21st. Since it was first characterized in the 1950s, this intricate double helix biopolymer has opened up new frontiers in the study of life on earth, including an unprecedented understanding of how our own bodies grow and develop.
Read More >>Post-combustion scrubbers efficient at CO2 capture
CARBON CAPTURE
Given the widespread desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many observers expect carbon capture technology to become as common...
Read More >>The farmer in the lab
CATALYTIC CHEMISTRY
Chemistry professor Michael Organ has taken on some tough puzzles in organic chemistry and added to the roster of industrial tools for synthesizing valuable materials. Over the past decade, as...
Read More >>Overcoming teaching challenges in organic chemistry
EDUCATION
You would not think of touring a foreign country without a decent phrase book in your hip pocket or, better yet, a good grasp of the local language. Yet many chemistry students stumble into the distinctly foreign territory of organic chemistry with no such preparation.
Read More >>Greenhouse gases made to measure with new technology
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
After decades of deliberation and debate, humanity’s efforts to confront climate change remain tangled with a familiar business maxim: you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Although rising levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) within the Earth’s atmosphere have been repeatedly linked to changing weather...
Read More >>Shedding new light on cholesterol in the bloodstream
BIOCHEMISTRY
As tempting as it might be to imagine blood vessels as a network of garden hoses carrying vital agents around the body, the reality is much more subtle and complex. Although blood travels readily...
Read More >>Periodic table welcomes four new elements to the party
FUNDAMENTALS
Copies of the periodic table are found on the walls of laboratories and classrooms around the world, so when an element is added to this iconic fixture, it becomes a global story.
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