#Molecules

Two physical constraints — surface area and diffusion — explain why cells are (usually) tiny.

Biomolecules are naturally occurring molecules that form the basis of living systems. They are widely used in the production of a diverse range of materials.…

Complex organic molecules (COMS) are at the heart of life. They're created where jets from protostars slam into the interstellar medium, environments that scientists call natural laboratories.…

The search for life elsewhere focuses on biosignatures. These are chemicals in atmospheres that can only be attributed to life. But despite the prowess of the JWST, finding slam-dunk proof of life on other worlds is a confounding exercise.…

Researchers have developed three new antibiotics from scorpion venom and habanero peppers to combat tuberculosis and other drug-resistant pathogens.

From Live Science: Quantum battery charges in a quadrillionth of a second with a laser — larger prototypes could last for years after charging for just a minute

Drug discovery still too often relies on expensive trial and error. Researchers from ICTER show there is another way—building molecules step by step and observing their behavior at atomic resolution.…

The company that built TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, the system that predicts with unsettling accuracy what a person wants to watch next, is now using a related class of AI to predict how molecules will behave inside a human body.…

Mechanochemistry is a growing field for chemical reactions that proceed in the solid state in the absence, or with minuscule amounts, of solvent added.…

Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute and Freie Universität Berlin have revealed the arrangement of water molecules at the interface between liquid water and air.…

Finding molecules in places we will never visit is no simple task. Vetting and sometimes correcting such observations is a continual process.

Though wind and solar continue to carve out larger and larger shares of world energy supply, the modern world still runs on petroleum, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

I have a question about LUMO (Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital), and specifically how Br₂ works as a LUMO. My understanding is that an empty antibonding orbital accepts electrons, but I don’t get how this is specific to Br₂ and why this doesn’t apply…

New experiments suggest that freezing and thawing on early Earth may have helped primitive cell-like structures grow and evolve. Tiny lipid bubbles behaved very differently depending on their membrane makeup—some fused into larger compartments and…

Scientists have identified at least seven carbon-rich molecules that NASA's Curiosity rover detected on Mars, and they're more complex than any found before.

Curiosity rover’s discovery of a diverse set of organic molecules in a Mars rock sample strengthens evidence that the planet once had the chemistry needed to support life.

From Live Science: NASA rover uncovers rock with 7 new organic molecules on Mars — the 'most diverse collection' ever seen

Scientists keep detecting new forms of ice. According to simulations, there could be many more left to find.

From Mashable RSS Feed: Mars did have complex carbon. A NASA rover found its hiding place.

From Bad Astronomy: The building blocks for RNA-based life have been found… in the center of the Milky Way