Compounds

CBD (yellow stick structure) interferes with binding of an opioid (green and red) by stabilizing an opioid receptor (gray) in its inactive form. Credit: Charles KuntzAs the U.S. pushes for wider access to naloxone, a fast-acting opioid antidote, researchers are exploring <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>cannabidiol</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Cannabidiol, commonly called CBD, is a phytocannabinoid discovered in…

Credit: CC0 Public Domain The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has released new analysis based on updated data that suggests potentially greater long-term public school enrollment challenges, as well as recommendations for educational leaders and policymakers as they continue to grapple with the impacts of COVID-19 on the K-12 pipeline. This new analysis focuses on public school enrollment changes…

Scientists have discovered that gold nanoparticles supported on a zirconium oxide surface can turn waste materials like biomass and polyester into organosilane compounds, which are valuable chemicals used in various applications. The protocol is a greener and less demanding method for upcycling waste, leveraging the cooperation between gold nanoparticles and the amphoteric nature of the zirconium oxide support.Supported gold nanoparticle catalyst can upcycle polyester and biomass.Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan…

The sun was shining again recently when Fidencio Velasquez visited what used to be 90 acres of prime Ventura County strawberry fields. He pointed to a 40-foot storage container that Santa Clara River floodwaters had swept off a neighboring farm and deposited before him. Overturned tractors and fertilizer bins were strewn about like toys, while the deep channels between crop rows were filled with mud. A harvesting machine was damaged beyond repair. Metal pipes, hoses and trash littered the farm’s outskirts. “It’s a total…

HONG KONG—China’s housing market flipped from being a growth driver to an economic drag in 2022, with sales slumping, prices falling and widespread job losses. The prognosis for this year isn’t much better, compounding Beijing’s efforts to get its economy back on firmer footing.Sales of new residential properties in the country tumbled 28% last year to the equivalent of $1.7 trillion in value terms, a five-year low. By floor area, they dropped to their lowest level in nearly a decade, after a wave of real-estate developer…

Researchers can isolate magnesium feedstocks from the ocean, important for renewable energy applications. Credit: Cortland Johnson | Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryMagnesium salt is extracted from Sequim seawater using a novel flow-based technique.People have been using salts from the ocean, like table salt, since prehistoric times. While table salt is the most easily obtained, seawater is a rich supply of other minerals, and researchers are investigating which ones may be extracted from the sea. Magnesium is one of…

A new study published in the journal Science has uncovered new evidence of possible organic compounds on Mars. The discovery is just one of several discoveries that Perseverance and NASA’s Curiosity Rover have made on the Red Planet, which could paint a picture of life and living organics having called the planet home in the past. With NASA planning a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, learning more about the planet continues to be a priority for many working with NASA and other space agencies.…

The Perseverance rover may have just found evidence of organic compounds in the rocks of the Jezero Crater.Previous studies have found evidence of organic compounds on Mars before. The Curiosity rover and the Mars Express orbiter both returned evidence thereof, as has data from Perseverance. None of it necessarily implies some kind of biology – a variety of geological phenomena can facilitate carbon-based chemistry, after all.But studying these compounds in greater detail could reveal more about the water history of…

This Perseverance rover Mastcam-Z enhanced color photo mosaic shows a butte near Jezero crater informally dubbed “Kodiak” by the rover team. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS; edited by Jim Bell/ASURock samples from the Jezero crater analyzed by <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency…

Hops are a key component of beer’s flavor and aroma. According to new research, compounds extracted from hop flowers can, in lab dishes, inhibit the clumping of amyloid beta proteins, which is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.Beer is one of the oldest and most popular beverages in the world. Hops, the flowers (or seed cones) of the hop plant Humulus lupulus, make beer bitter and are a key component of beer’s flavor and aroma. The distinct, bitter taste of the hops used to flavor its many varieties of beer is something…