Self-Assembling Polymer Increases Hard Drive Capacity Fivefold

Synthetic chemists have designed self-assembling polymers, which require heat in order to rearrange themselves. This technology has the potential of increasing hard drive storage capacity fivefold.

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Biochemical Reactions Act Differently When Subjected to Intracellular Crowding

Biochemical reactions behave differently when subjected to intracellular crowding Image: James Cridland/Flickr

Molecular crowding inside cells is a critical factor that is sometimes overlooked in the lab. Biochemical reactions are drastically different in tighter spaces, resulting in significant physical and chemical consequences.

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DNA Could Predate Existence of Life As We Know It

Chemists are close to showing that DNA could form spontaneously from chemicals which were present during primordial Earth. If they succeed, the work could imply that DNA could predate the birth of life as we know it.

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First Integrated Chemical Circuits Developed Using Ion Transistors

A the Organic Electronic research group at Linköping University in Sweden, researchers have been working on ways of creating chemical circuits. They were previously able to develop ion transistors to transport both positive and negative ions as well as biomolecules. Now, Klas Tybrandt has succeeded in combining both transistor types into complementary circuits, which are similar to silicon-based electronics.

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Livermorium & Flerovium, Two New Elements Officially Join Periodic Table

It was first announced back in December 2011 that two new elements would join the periodic table of elements. It has now become official. Flerovium and Livermorium, elements 114 and 115, were approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry on the 31st of May.

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Olympicene, the Smallest Possible Five-Ringed Structure

The smallest five-ringed structure possible is about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair, and it was created by a collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the University of Warwick and IBM Research in Zürich. Scientists used a combination of synthetic chemistry and modern imaging techniques to create olympicene.

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Elastomeric “Soft” Robots Running on Pneumatic Actuators

These new prototype robots, which were molded from paper and silicone rubber, can twist, bend, grip, and lift more than 100 times their own weight. The more astonishing fact is that they run on pneumatic actuators, which means that they basically run on air.

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