Articles from category Chemistry

Prof. Ben L. Feringa.

Motion сreates life: In conversation with Nobel Prize-winning Prof. Ben L. Feringa

Soon, you may no longer need to wash your windows before the holidays—and a car scratched in a parking lot could repair itself. Beyond such everyday conveniences lie even more…

Domain texture of the newly discovered phase (image from a polarizing microscope).

A dance of light and electricity: Extraordinary properties of a liquid crystal

Liquid crystals have long powered the screens of televisions, phones, and watches. But in recent years, scientists have been uncovering entirely new kinds of liquid crystalline phases – often with…

Ruthenium catalyst with the quinoxaline-derived ligand.

Chemistry with less “chemistry”: How scientists at UW improved a Nobel-winning reaction

In Igor Newerly’s novel The Forest Sea, set in Manchuria occupied by Imperial Japan, there is a haunting scene describing the hunting of wild musk deer in the snowy taiga…

Modern methods for imaging the structure of matter using X-ray radiation and electrons. Source: Nature Communications

A chemical chameleon: Materials that respond to light

Chameleons are known for changing color in the blink of an eye – but nonliving matter can do something similar. Spin-crossover (SCO) materials can rapidly switch their electronic configuration when exposed…

Prof. Jacek Jemielity

“I’m pleased I noticed something that turned out to be a dark horse.” We talk to Prof. Jacek Jemielity, chemist

These four letters – mRNA – entered the public space during the pandemic, thanks to COVID-19 vaccines. Yet research on mRNA had been underway for 40 years. The first clinical…

Milli-, micro-, nano-, pico-, and femto- – these prefixes help us describe objects at extremely small scales. Scientists are making remarkable advances in this microscopic world.

Nanomachines of the future: Teaching molecules to rotate on command

“I am a robot, forged and strong, by electric currents steered along,” wrote Stanisław Lem in "Fables for Robots". Today, powering robots with electricity is nothing unusual. The real challenge…

Life that is not only long, but also happy? One step closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s

Advances in medicine have extended our lives. However, a consequence of being able to enjoy a longer old age is an increased number of people suffering from age-related neurodegenerative diseases.…

Organogel is a complex structure containing a nano-sized natural mineral.

Works of art pretty as a picture! A discovery by scientists at the University of Warsaw reveals a new side to old paintings

Traditional methods of restoring paintings can have a negative impact on both conservators and the canvases themselves. Specialists are exposed to toxic substances, and the quality of art restoration declines…