Hacker News with Generative AI: Chemistry

LLMs for Materials and Chemistry: 34 Real-World Examples (arxiv.org)
Large Language Models (LLMs) are reshaping many aspects of materials science and chemistry research, enabling advances in molecular property prediction, materials design, scientific automation, knowledge extraction, and more.
Generative AI, Materials Science, Chemistry
10 points by yz-exodao 1 day ago | 1 comments
BBC Elements Podcast (2014) (bbc.co.uk)
A close look at chemical elements, the basic building blocks of the universe. Where do we get them, what do we use them for and how do they fit into our economy?
Science, Chemistry, Podcasts, BBC
6 points by jeffrallen 3 days ago | 0 comments
Why do electrons not fall into the nucleus? (libretexts.org)
The picture of electrons "orbiting" the nucleus like planets around the sun remains an enduring one, not only in popular images of the atom but also in the minds of many of us who know better.
Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Chemistry, Atomic Structure
48 points by thunderbong 11 days ago | 50 comments
Scientists Develop Artificial Leaf, Uses Sunlight to Produce Valuable Chemicals (newscenter.lbl.gov)
Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) along with international collaborators have brought us one step closer to harnessing the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuel and other valuable chemicals.
Science, Energy, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Chemistry
290 points by gnabgib 14 days ago | 122 comments
Scientists confirm vitamin B1 hypothesis from 1958 (news.ucr.edu)
Chemists have confirmed a 67-year-old theory about vitamin B1 by stabilizing a reactive molecule in water — a feat long thought impossible.
Chemistry, Science, Vitamin B1, Research
29 points by geox 17 days ago | 1 comments
Scientists make water-repellent replacement for toxic 'forever chemicals' (phys.org)
A team of international scientists has invented a substitute for synthetic chemicals, called PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances), which are widely used in everyday products despite being hazardous to health and the environment.
Science, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Materials Science, Sustainability
10 points by PaulHoule 21 days ago | 0 comments
Calcium may have unlocked the origins of life's molecular asymmetry (sciencedaily.com)
A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo has uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping life's earliest molecular structures.
Science, Chemistry, Biology
23 points by docmechanic 25 days ago | 3 comments
Boron-Based Flame Retardants: Enabling Everyday Safety (borax.com)
On November 6, 1961, one of the most costly and destructive residential fires in California history ignited.
Safety, Fire Safety, Chemistry, Materials Science
15 points by guerrilla 33 days ago | 2 comments
Japanese scientists create new plastic that dissolves in saltwater overnight (newatlas.com)
Scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind safe compounds.
Science, Materials Science, Environmental Technology, Chemistry, Japan
194 points by bentobean 42 days ago | 121 comments
Scientists Discover New Heavy-Metal Molecule 'Berkelocene' (newscenter.lbl.gov)
A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has discovered “berkelocene,” the first organometallic molecule to be characterized containing the heavy element berkelium.
Science, Chemistry, New Discoveries, Elements
130 points by gmays 46 days ago | 47 comments
Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air (phys.org)
Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste.
Chemistry, Sustainability, Environmental Science, Plastic Waste
186 points by PaulHoule 49 days ago | 109 comments
Indian chemical company employees indicted for Importing of Fentanyl Precursors (justice.gov)
An India-based chemical manufacturing company and three high-level employees were charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., today related to illegally importing precursor chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl.
India, Chemistry, Law Enforcement, Fentanyl, Drugs
17 points by 737min 49 days ago | 0 comments
Chemists develop dye stack that mimics plant energy conversion (phys.org)
With artificial photosynthesis, mankind could utilize solar energy to bind carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. Chemists from Würzburg and Seoul have taken this one step further: They have synthesized a stack of dyes that comes very close to the photosynthetic apparatus of plants. It absorbs light energy, uses it to separate charge carriers and transfers them quickly and efficiently in the stack.
Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Artificial Photosynthesis, Plants
5 points by wglb 50 days ago | 1 comments
The Molecule of the Month (bris.ac.uk)
Each month since January 1996 a new molecule has been added to the list on this page, which makes this one of the longest running Chemical websites on the internet!
Chemistry, Science, Websites, Internet
35 points by fhlu 51 days ago | 7 comments
Philly's street fentanyl contains a chemical called BTMPS used in plastic (theconversation.com)
As much as half of the fentanyl sold on Philly’s streets contains an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing. That’s according to our November 2024 testing of fentanyl samples collected in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, regarded as the largest open-air drug market on the East Coast.
Drugs, Public Health, Philadelphia, Chemistry
21 points by PaulHoule 52 days ago | 9 comments
Michael Faraday's illustrated notes to be posted online (theguardian.com)
He was a self-educated genius whose groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of physics and chemistry electrified the world of science and laid the foundations for Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity nearly a century later.
Science, History, Physics, Chemistry, Online Resources
7 points by dboreham 55 days ago | 0 comments
Artificial photosynthesis directed toward organic synthesis (nature.com)
Inspired by natural photosynthesis, artificial photosynthesis has been gaining increasing interest in the field of sustainability/green science and technology as a non-natural and thermodynamically endergonic (ΔG° > 0, uphill) solar-energy-driven reaction that uses water as an electron donor and a source material.
Artificial Photosynthesis, Science, Sustainability, Chemistry
79 points by PaulHoule 57 days ago | 21 comments
Benzene is not quite how we think it is (2020) (springernature.com)
Benzene is a molecule at the heart of chemical culture, and a battleground for competing views on electronic structure. We applied an algorithm to extract Kekulé structures from a wave function, finding that electron correlation causes electrons of each spin to occupy alternate Kekulé structures.
Chemistry, Science, Quantum Chemistry, Molecular Structure
4 points by gudzpoz 61 days ago | 0 comments
A New, Chemical View of Ecosystems (quantamagazine.org)
Rare and powerful compounds, known as keystone molecules, can build a web of invisible interactions among species.
Ecology, Chemistry, Ecosystems, Biology
31 points by rbanffy 64 days ago | 4 comments
Bird study finds larger volumes of toxic PFAS chemicals than previously reported (phys.org)
Researchers studying birds and the food they eat are now finding much larger volumes of the toxic PFAS chemicals than before.
Environmental Science, Chemistry, Wildlife, Pollution, PFAS
6 points by PaulHoule 64 days ago | 0 comments
What Rosalind Franklin contributed to the discovery of DNA's structure (nature.com)
Chemist Rosalind Franklin independently grasped how DNA’s structure could specify proteins.
Science, Biology, DNA, History, Chemistry
4 points by jyscao 65 days ago | 0 comments
Chemists find greener path to making ethylene oxide, a key industrial chemical (phys.org)
Scientists have discovered a potentially greener way to produce a crucial industrial chemical used to make many everyday products, from plastics and textiles to antifreeze and disinfectants, according to a study published in Science and co-authored by Tulane University chemical engineer Matthew Montemore.
Chemistry, Sustainability, Industrial Chemicals, Materials Science
7 points by PaulHoule 65 days ago | 1 comments
As China sweeps top spots, chemistry seems to be dying in the US (scmp.com)
There is a seismic shift happening in global scientific leadership: China is cementing its dominance in chemistry research, while Western institutions are facing cutbacks.
Science, China, Chemistry, Research, United States
9 points by akyuu 67 days ago | 1 comments
Brewing tea removes lead from water (news.northwestern.edu)
Good news for tea lovers: That daily brew might be purifying the water, too.
Health, Chemistry, Water Treatment
16 points by geox 74 days ago | 1 comments
Scented products cause indoor air pollution on par with car exhaust (newatlas.com)
Using scented products indoors changes the chemistry of the air, producing as much air pollution as car exhaust does outside, according to a new study.
Environmental Science, Health, Pollution, Chemistry
383 points by clumsysmurf 78 days ago | 197 comments
Among top researchers 10% publish at unrealistic levels, analysis finds (chemistryworld.com)
About 10% of the most influential researchers worldwide in various scientific fields, including chemistry, are achieving ‘implausibly high’ publication and new co-author rates.
Science, Research, Publishing, Academia, Chemistry
188 points by crescit_eundo 80 days ago | 112 comments
Physicists decipher structure of antimony melt, explain structural anomalies (phys.org)
Physicists decipher structure of antimony melt, explain nature of observed structural anomalies
Physics, Materials Science, Chemistry
4 points by PaulHoule 84 days ago | 0 comments
A pair of scissors on formica table suddenly bursts into flames (reddit.com)
A pair of scissors sitting on my table (formica top) suddenly burst into flames. No heat source, electricity, or battery nearby. No contact with anything but the table. I suspect some sort of chemical reaction between the handles and the table occurred. Any ideas?
Strange Phenomena, Household Accidents, Chemistry
59 points by 83457 87 days ago | 47 comments
Rubidium Can Be More Than a Lithium Cast-Off (ieee.org)
Rubidium is often an unwanted by-product of lithium mining and extraction—but it has its own high-tech uses.
Chemistry, Mining, Technology
6 points by abe94 87 days ago | 2 comments
"A pair of scissors sitting on my table suddenly burst into flames" (reddit.com)
A pair of scissors sitting on my table (formica top) suddenly burst into flames. No heat source, electricity, or battery nearby. No contact with anything but the table. I suspect some sort of chemical reaction between the handles and the table occurred. Any ideas?
Strange Occurrences, Household Mysteries, Chemistry, Fire Safety
12 points by davidbarker 88 days ago | 0 comments