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Saving Valuable Time: the Molecule-Making Machine

A new molecule making machine could imitate 3-D printing, making it fast, flexible and accessible to everyone. This machine can assemble small, complex molecules at the click of a mouse. This automated process has the potential to greatly speed up and enable new drug development and other technologies that rely on small molecules. A team of chemists led by Martin D. Burke, at University of Illinois a team led by Martin D. Burke built the machine to imitate 3-D printer at a molecular level. They described the technology in a paper featured on the cover of the March 13 issue of Science. "Small molecules" are a specific class of complex, compact chemical structures found throughout nature. They are very important in medicine -- most medications available now are small molecules -- as well as in biology as probes to uncover the inner workings of cells and tissues. But small molecules are also very difficult to produce in a laboratory, and it takes a highly experienced che

Man Creates The First Ever Leaf That Turns Light and Water Into Oxygen

Artificial leaf technology is constantly expanding. Coming from a silk lab in Tufts University, Julian Melchiorri is a scientist and artist who has introduced an artificial leaf that can undergo photosynthesis. This design was produced with the plan that it could light up the house and produce oxygen simultaneously.   He has made this invention by suspending chloroplasts (the organelles required for photosynthesis) in a body produced from silk protein. The leaf then is able to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen as the product, as long as there is enough water and light to feed it. Julian believes that his artificial leaf is not only light weight, but also extremely energy and light efficient.   The Photosynthesis Equation: 6CO 2  + 6H 2 O + (SUNLIGHT ENERGY) --> C 6 H 12 O 6  + 6O 2 This seems like a great idea but there is something missing from Julian’s design: Sugar. Plants produce oxygen and glucose as the product of photosynthesis.

Scientist of the Week 2: Ahmed Zewail

This weeks Scientist of the Week #SOTW is Ahmed Zewail, the famous, Egyptian scientist & Nobel laureate, for his amazing research in femtochemistry:  studying chemical reactions across femtoseconds (1 fs= 10 -15  seconds).   Biography: Born on February 26, 1946 in a city not so far from Alexandria, Egypt; Zewail “lived an enjoyable childhood”.  His family’s dream was to see Zewail achieve a high degree abroad and return to Egypt to become a university professor.  Zewail completed his degree in Alexandria University with First Class Honours and it is the same place where he realised his strong passion for science especially the physical sciences.   Zewail then went onto complete his Masters and PhD in Alexandria University where he was employed as a demonstrator (“Moeid”) where he gave lectures to undergraduates.  He then travelled o the United States where he completed his PhD in the University of Pennsylvania with advisor Robin M. Hochstrasser. Zewail then moved to Berk

Why do we remember bad memories easier than good ones?

How many times have you found yourself recollecting a bad memory? It doesn't even have to be a very bad memory,  it could be a sad moment, a moment which angered you or even an embarrassing moment. B ut it is definitely prominent in your mind. All of these things could have happened years ago and you don't want to remember them but they still come back and haunt you from time to time. But the question is why do we remember these bad memories more than good ones?  Time to think out of the box By Frits Ahlefeldt Bad outweighs the good It turns out that negative memories are more likely to be remembered over positive ones in the brain because negative events pose a chance of "danger".  This makes the body more alert to negative thoughts because they are treated as a lesson to the person to help them prevent harm. Therefore we become extremely focused on the negative thoughts and it becomes much more difficult to recall the positive thoughts/memories. Sp

Scientist of the Week - Week One

Choosing a scientist to begin the first week of Scientist of the Week was difficult but after a lot of thinking and contemplating, I have chosen…………… Marie Curie! The first woman to win a Nobel peace prize. Biography Key Research X-ray work during WW1 Nobel Peace Prizes ___________________________________________________________ Marie Curie, born in Warsaw on 7 November 1867, is a Polish-born physicist and chemist. Curie was the youngest of five children. She studied at Warsaw’s clandestine Floating University and began her scientific training in Warsaw. Later in 1891, Curie’s sister offered her temporary accommodation in Paris and she immediately took up the offer and moved to Paris, France where she started her studies in Sorbonne University where she read physics and mathematics and earned higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. In 1894 Marie met Pierre Curie in Paris (a scientist working in the city) and they married a year later. Pierre an

Amazing Science Images Courtesy of SciArt

[(Update:  On Monday, 4,893 tweets were shared with the #SciArt hashtag; the first 3 days have totaled 11,695 tweets! Results generated from Topsy.com.  Results from Symbiartic  )] As of March 1st, the Symbiartic team aspires to boost the number of images available within science communication and culture; so everyone is invited to join the hashtag #SciArt on  twitter. So far there have been hundreds of thousand of tweets dedicated to #SciArt which has made it one of the top trending topics on twitter.  ScientificAmerican blog imagines: "IF, for 1 week, half the people on that list tweeted 3 pieces of art, and retweeted others at least 5 times, all in one day. That’s   1,600 tweets containing #SciArt per day; 11,200 in a week . That will cause people to notice. Editors, journalists, researchers, educators, and maybe beyond."  The ScientificAmerican blog has more information here  to help you find out more and join the SciArt twitter storm. 

New Segment: Scientist of the Week!

After my previous blog post Science: It's a Girl Thing  I have decided to start a new segment where I will be featuring one scientist from different branches of science and could be male or female and provide a profile / case study dedicated to that scientist every week. This segment will be: Scientist of the Week and will be posted every Friday  commencing from Friday 6th March 2015 ! Can you guess which scientist I will be starting with?

Science: It's a Girl Thing! 3 Years Later...

( Disclaimer:  I maybe two or three years late, but this is still an important issue, so it wouldn't hurt to address it today.) I was “googl-ing” other science and/or chemistry blogs to read and I came across this video here: This video was published by the European Commission for a campaign designed to attract more women to a career in science. The commission said that the video had to "speak their language to get their attention" and that it was intended to be "fun, catchy" and strike a chord with young people. "I would encourage everyone to have a look at the wider campaign and the many videos already online of female researchers talking about their jobs and lives.”The original video was taken down after it received so many negative comments.

Acai Berry: Super-Fruit or Super-Hype

J ust recently my Instagram feed became flooded by acai bowls. Acai bowls are becoming increasingly popular day by day because of their main component: the acai berry. Acai berries are now famous for their super-power antioxidant properties and other super health benefits. Acai berry (pronounced Ah-sah-yee) is a tropical berry that comes from the Amazon region in Brazil. The purple berry grow on a palm tree; the fruit has a hard skin so therefore the fruit is pureed to a purple puree which you can drink or eat in a bowl with other fruit, called an acai bowl. So far it is known that acai can increase your antioxidant levels, boost your energy levels, support your immune system and promote a healthy digestive system.

Why Popeye Loved Spinach In Particular + Iron Deficiency

Image from gallery-hip Everyone remembers from their childhood Popeye the sailor-man who used to eat spinach. We also know Popeye loved the green stuff, but the question is, why spinach? Was it just so he could be strong and fight of villains with one mighty-spinach-infused punch.  So what is the key element in spinach that makes it Popeye's super-food? IRON. 

Pineapple Juice : An Excellent Catalyst for Biginelli Reaction

Pineapple is almost everyone's favorite fruit and favorite juice. but not only is it good to consume, its also great for chemical reactions and green chemistry; cleaner ways to make pharmaceutical products.  An efficient and greener synthesis of a series of dihydropyrimidinone (DHPMs) derivatives were accomplished via three-component one-pot cyclocondensation between substituted aryl aldehydes, diketone/ke- toester and urea. This solvent free approach is totally nonpolluting having several advantages such as shorter reaction time, mild reaction conditions, simple workup and reduced environmental impact.