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chemistry

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Photo of the sun
Abstractions blog

What Is the Sun Made Of and When Will It Die?

By Natalie Wolchover
July 5, 2018
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If and when physicists are able to pin down the metal content of the sun, that number could upend much of what we thought we knew about the evolution and life span of stars.

Cryo-electron microscopy
Abstractions blog

Supercool Protein Imaging Gets the Nobel Prize

By Jordana Cepelewicz +1 authors
John Rennie
October 4, 2017
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This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry goes to researchers who made it possible to see proteins and other biomolecules at an atomic level of detail.

planetary science

What Made the Moon? New Ideas Try to Rescue a Troubled Theory

By Rebecca Boyle
August 2, 2017
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Textbooks say that the moon was formed after a Mars-size mass smashed the young Earth. But new evidence has cast doubt on that story, leaving researchers to dream up new ways to get a giant rock into orbit.

biophysics

Jammed Cells Expose the Physics of Cancer

By Gabriel Popkin
August 16, 2016
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The subtle mechanics of densely packed cells may help explain why some cancerous tumors stay put while others break off and spread through the body.

microbiology

New Life Found That Lives Off Electricity

By Emily Singer
June 21, 2016
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Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such lifeforms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated.

astrobiology

Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life

By Natalie Wolchover
February 2, 2016
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Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target.

Biology

New Twist Found in the Story of Life’s Start

By Emily Singer
November 26, 2014
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All life on Earth is made of molecules that twist in the same direction. New research reveals that this may not always have been so.

origins of life

Chemists Seek Possible Precursor to RNA

By Emily Singer
February 5, 2014
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Scientists have discovered building blocks similar to those in modern RNA that can effortlessly assemble when mixed in water and heated.

Q&A

In Pursuit of Quantum Biology

By Peter Byrne
July 30, 2013
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An interview with the Berkeley chemist K. Birgitta Whaley on the promise and challenge of translating quantum biology into practical quantum devices.


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