Just Thinking Differently About Sexual Compatibility May Help a Dry Spell, Study Hints

Psychologists have investigated two contrasting beliefs about the nature of sexual satisfaction, to find out which is more likely to help couples better navigate sexual compatibility.   Desire for sex with a new love interest typically starts strong and then wanes over time. Priorities rearrange, small incompatibilities become big ones, and the energy that comes … Read more

How did the moon form? Simulation may solve riddle about its chemistry

The moon is thought to have been created in a violent collision, and a new simulation of the event could answer questions that have puzzled astrophysicists Space 11 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins Artwork of the collision that gave rise to the moon MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A computer simulation that traces the moon’s formation … Read more

Endlessly recyclable materials could fix our plastic waste crisis

Untold amounts of plastic waste is polluting our land and seas. Now, we’re using chemical tricks to design infinitely and easily recyclable materials Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter One thing chemists do superbly is make bonds between atoms. We are now wading through the consequences of that success: plastic waste that … Read more

James Webb Space Telescope instrument gets ready to probe the universe’s chemistry

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is preparing for a deep-space chemistry experiment. During the observatory’s commissioning and ongoing mirror alignment, Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) team successfully finished initial check-out and characterization of three mechanisms that are key for the instrument to do its work. “The NIRSpec team will continue their commissioning efforts. The whole team … Read more

How artificial intelligence can help us figure out how life began

How inanimate molecules first arranged themselves into life is one of the great mysteries. The answer could lie in a systematic exploration of chemical space Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter How did Earth turn from a sterile ball of rock into a lush, green world of living things? This question of … Read more

New ways to suck up methane can buy us vital time in the climate fight

Remove a billion tonnes of methane from the air and we could cool Earth by 0.2°C, extending the window of opportunity to remove carbon dioxide before it is too late Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter The warming of our planet is usually blamed on carbon dioxide, but there is another major … Read more

How to make sustainable batteries that won’t wreck the planet

The batteries we need to power the transition to 100-per-cent renewable electricity require rare metals, and that means destructive mining – but researchers are working on alternatives Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter If we are going to stop burning fossil fuels, it is critical that we have access to electricity from … Read more

Endlessly recyclable plastics could fix our waste crisis

Untold amounts of plastic waste is polluting our land and seas. Now, we’re using chemical tricks to design infinitely and easily recyclable materials Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter One thing chemists do superbly is make bonds between atoms. We are now wading through the consequences of that success: plastic waste that … Read more

Automated chemistry: The machines that can discover new drugs

Making new molecules to treat disease has relied upon the painstaking art of synthetic chemistry, but now we’re developing robots that could do it all for us Technology 2 March 2022 By Katharine Sanderson Graham Carter Perhaps the most storied aspect of modern chemistry is total synthesis. This is the craft of taking simple molecules … Read more