Researchers have discovered why reducing particle pollution is leading to a rise in photochemical smog in some emerging economies such as India, Africa and China.

Researchers announced today that they have built a nanowire that is 2.6 nanometers long, shows an unusual increase in conductance as the wire length increases, and has quasi-metallic properties. Its excellent conductivity holds great promise for the field of molecular electronics, enabling electronic devices to become even tinier.

Solar-powered synthesis gas could recycle carbon dioxide into fuels and useful chemicals, an international team of researchers has shown.

Researchers have statistically validated a new method for assessing the antimicrobial efficacy of detergents and textile additives in domestic environments. The results reveal the validity of the new protocol, which has been presented to the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) requesting it to become the European standard.

As it captivated people around the world, the January eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano gave scientists a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study how the atmosphere works, unlocking keys to better predict the weather and changing climate.

A research team has disclosed the complete biosynthetic pathway for the formation of strychnine in the plant species Strychnos nux-vomica (poison nut). The researchers identified all genes involved in the biosynthesis of strychnine and other metabolites and expressed them in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This enabled them to show that these extremely complex and pharmacologically important molecules can be synthesized using 'metabolic engineering' methods.

Researchers identified chemical intermediates in the hydrogenation of copper-adsorbed formate. Depending on the temperature, some of the hydrogenation product decomposed into formaldehyde. The activation energy was also quantified, based on experimental and computational work. These results will be useful for optimizing production of methanol fuel from carbon dioxide.

Researchers have developed a nanosheet-laminated photocatalytic membrane that demonstrates both excellent water permeance and photocatalytic activity. The membrane's photocatalytic properties make it easier to clean as irradiating the membrane with light successfully reduces fouling. This revolutionary membrane technology can be applied to water purification, and thus has the potential to contribute towards tackling both global environmental and energy issues by helping to ensure a supply of safe drinking water and clean energy.

A simple and versatile nanoparticle ink could help next-generation perovskite solar cells to be printed at scale and become the dominant force in commercial photovoltaics.

Using a new method, scientists are better able to distinguish between mirror-image substances. This is important amongst others in drug development, because the two variants can cause completely different effects in the human body.