Jamie Durrani

2 weeks ago | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani

A new ‘super-shielded’ carbene is stable in liquid water solutions. The US team that made the carbene claims that it ‘unambiguously confirms’ that it is possible to generate carbenes in an aqueous environment – validating a hypothesis put forward almost 70 years ago by the famed organic chemist Ronald Breslow. Carbenes contain a carbon atom that has two non-bonded valence electrons. In general, this makes them highly reactive and short lived.

1 month ago | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani

Applying an electrical charge to liquid droplets reduces – or even eliminates – the splash when those droplets hit a solid surface. In some cases, charge can even prevent splashing altogether. The researchers behind the finding suggest that the phenomenon could be used to control impact dynamics during inkjet printing, and in the application of pesticides or surface coatings. Droplets can acquire charge in various settings.

1 month ago | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani

A new project aims to define the key terms used in the field of molecular machines. It is hoped that the new definitions will allow researchers to avoid semantic debates, and could help provide clarity in any future legal battles involving the technology. Even the phrase ‘molecular machine’ is used inconsistently by the field’s researchers Molecular machines are generally understood to include an array of nanoscale pumps, switches, motors and ratchets.

2 months ago | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani

New wave of precision medicines amplify or silence genes, without altering genetic codeA new class of medicines that control the activity of individual genes could transform the treatment of numerous diseases, from viral infections to neurological disorders. The first human trial of a therapeutic based on an ‘epigenetic editor’ began earlier this year, with a string of others due to start in the coming months.

2 months ago | chemistryworld.com | Jamie Durrani

Three long-chain alkanes detected by Nasa’s Curiosity rover could be chemical biosignatures that point to a history of past life on Mars, according to an international team of researchers. However, the team notes that the compounds may also have inorganic origins. Source: © NASA/JPL-Caltech Picomolar concentrations of decane, undecane and dodecane were detected in mudstone samples drilled from Mars’s Gale crater, which at one time likely held a lake of liquid water.