Chemistry, Nano & Materials

Four possible consequences of El Niño returning in 2023

The Conversation: Every two to seven years, the equatorial Pacific Ocean gets up to 3°C warmer (what we know as an El Niño event) or colder (La Niña) than usual, triggering a cascade of effects felt around the world. This cycle…

Roboticists want to give you a third arm

IEEE Spectrum: What could you do with an extra limb? Consider a surgeon performing a delicate operation, one that needs her expertise and steady hands—all three of them. As her two biological hands manipulate surgical instruments, a third robotic limb that’s…

Earth’s ‘geological thermostat’ is too slow to prevent climate change

New Scientist: Reactions between rocks, rain and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have helped to stabilise the climate throughout Earth’s history, but they won’t prevent our carbon emissions from causing…

Chemical chainmail constructed from interlocked coordination polymers

Chemistry World: Interlocked molecules have entered a new dimension. Researchers have synthesised an ‘infinite three-dimensional catenane’ by constructing concatenated covalent–organic frameworks (COFs). This chemical chainmail is extraordinarily flexible and resilient, which could lead to applications in materials science and synthetic biology….