Chemistry | Science News for Students

Chemistry

an illustration of a new 18-atom carbon ring

Chemists created a new form of carbon called cyclocarbon. The 18-atom ring is illustrated here using data from an atomic force microscope. Bonds between the atoms are alternately longer and shorter, giving the ring nine sides.

IBM Research

Chemistry
 
Sep 9, 2019
Chemists have created a ring-shaped form of carbon
a photo of a woman with sweat showing through her shirt, her arms are raised above her head

Relax. Everybody sweats. But what causes that distinctive sweaty smell? Blame your bacteria.

Dandamanwasch/iStock/Getty Images Plus; adapted by L. Steenblik Hwang

Body functions
 
Aug 22, 2019
Explainer: The bacteria behind your B.O.
three surgeons operating on an unseen person

To reshape living tissue, surgeons usually cut into cells and stitch the wound. This type of surgery creates scars. A new, painless approach would damage few cells and might take only a few minutes.

andrei_r/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Technology
 
Aug 19, 2019
A new electric surgery tool may someday fix nose, ear and eye problems
an animated image showing magnetized liquid droplets floating in oil and spinning

Three permanently magnetized liquid droplets floating in oil. As they spin in response to a rotating magnetic field, their activity wraps orange dye around themselves.

X. Liu et al/Science 2019

Physics
 
Aug 5, 2019
Tiny new magnets are not only squishy but also liquid
860_fireworks_banner_4MB_fade.gif

The displays that dazzle revelers on July 4th and many other holidays are the result of chemists and other researchers working to create and choreograph pyrotechnic theater in the night sky.

ProFilm4K/Creatas Video+/Getty Images

STEM Careers
 
Jun 27, 2019
Fireworks shower the skies with science
An underwater photo of a school of fish swimming past a reef. 

Researchers are studying the bacteria that live on fish in the Pacific Ocean in search of molecules that could be turned into drugs.

strmko/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Microbes
 
May 29, 2019
Slimy fish could aid the search for new drugs
a photo of food cooking on a stovetop with a turkey in the background

Cooking for Thanksgiving or other holidays releases lots of chemicals into the air. Some are good, and some not so good.

skynesher/E+/Getty Images

Environment
 
May 13, 2019
Studies show how homes can pollute indoor air
a young boy smiling and sitting in wheelchair, he's wearing a blue hat

Chemotherapy can cause your hair to fall out and make you feel tired and sick. Delivering the chemo drugs inside nanoparticles could reduce these side effects by making sure the drug goes only to the cancer.

Steve Debenport/E+/Getty Images

Chemistry
 
May 6, 2019
Remote-controlled nanoparticles could fight cancer — gently
a photo of a grape and water-soaked bead side by side in a microwave, a plasma fireball has sparked where they are touching

Microwaving two grapes creates a hotspot where the fruit pieces touch, sparking a plasma fireball. The trick also works with a grape and a water-soaked bead (shown).

Slepkov Biophotonics Lab/Trent Univ.

Physics
 
Apr 2, 2019
Scientists now know why microwaved grapes make plasma fireballs
Kasper Moth-Poulsen shows off a solar collector

Kasper Moth-Poulsen shows off the solar collector his team used to test its liquid battery.

Johan Bodell/Chalmers University of Technology

Chemistry
 
Mar 29, 2019
Shape-shifting chemical is key to new solar battery