Chemistry
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ChemistryThis plastic can be recycled over and over and over
A new kind of plastic is fully recyclable: Unlike current plastics, it breaks down into the exact same molecules from which it was made.
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ChemistryBioplastics could put some shrimp in your Barbie
Teen researchers are looking to natural materials like shrimp shells and banana peels to make plastics ecofriendly and biodegradable.
By Sid Perkins -
ChemistryAsteroids may have delivered water to early Earth
Scientists shot mineral pellets at a simulated planet. It showed an impact wouldn’t have boiled off all of an asteroid’s water.
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AnimalsChemicals from the world’s longest animal can kill cockroaches
The stuff in this sea worm’s slime can kill off green crabs, too.
By Susan Milius -
ChemistryHard-to-burn ‘smart’ wallpaper even triggers alarms
Scientists have made wallpaper that won’t easily burn. And embedded nanowires can be linked to a sensor to sound an alarm when the paper gets too hot.
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ChemistryBanana plant extract can slow how fast ice cream melts
Food scientists now show that adding these tiny plant particles to ice cream may delay the rate at which this treat melts into a soupy mess.
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ChemistryLight could make some hospital surfaces deadly to germs
A new surfacing material can disinfect itself. Room lighting turns on this germ-killing property, which could make the material attractive to hospitals.
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AnimalsCool Jobs: Diving for new medicines
Scientists mix research with underwater adventure as they search the oceans for new chemicals to treat infections, cancer and more.
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AnimalsNature shows how dragons might breathe fire
Fire-breathing dragons can’t live anywhere outside of a book or TV. But nature provides some guidance as to how they might get their flames. If they existed, anyway.
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ChemistryMoisture unmasks camouflaged message
Researchers have developed a new type of chemical that will mask some hidden message — until you add water.
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ChemistryHuman waste could power plastic-making in space
Someday recycled urine and exhaled breath could feed specially engineered yeast to make plastics and other useful chemicals on long space missions.