Chemistry

Arachnophobia, coral reefs, artificial cells and strange amphibians starred in some of this year's science finds you might have missed.

Ten Cool Science Stories You May Have Missed in 2014

ICYMI, there's a newfound coral reef in Iraq, the smallest force has been detected and more in this year's surprising science

Puberty Is Beginning Earlier in Girls, So What Can Parents Do?

The authors of a new book about the earlier onset of female puberty explain the evidence and offer advice

There’s More to Frankincense and Myrrh Than Meets the Eye

Frankincense and myrrh have interesting medicinal properties

A Bedbug Trap That Might Actually Work

Researchers are learning to use bed bugs pheromones against them

Truffles Have a THC-like Substance in Them

This produces a euphoric smell that likely evolved as a way to trick animals into eating them

Fat cells.

Now We Know Where Fat Goes When We Lose Weight

We breathe it out

When Sperm Meets Egg, Zinc Sparks Fly

Billions of tiny zinc particles explode from the surface of mammalian eggs when a sperm cell touches down

Why the Pantheon Hasn’t Crumbled

Ancient Roman concrete has some benefits over modern equivalents

Earth's layers.

What We Can Learn by Digging Up the Secrets of Earth's Deep Carbon

Diamond computers and subsurface life are just some of the topics being investigated by scientists in the Deep Carbon Observatory network

Pollution Is Turning the Taj Mahal Brown

Workers must periodically cover the Taj Mahal in clay to remove the pollutants stuck to its marble walls

This Plant-Based Gel Stops Bleeding in Seconds

A salve that seals severe wounds is making its way to veterinary clinics. Military and trauma testing may soon follow

Jura 103

The Physics of Whisky’s Aesthetically Pleasing Residue

A photographer teamed up with scientists to figure out the fluid dynamics behind patterns left in whisky glasses

Bath salts obtained by the Tampa Bay Times for testing back in 2012.

No, “Bath Salts” Won’t Turn You Into a Cannibal

But now we have a better idea what the latest generation of the drugs is really doing to your brain

An artist's interpretation of the Philae lander separating from Rosetta and landing on the comet.

The Philae Spacecraft Confirmed the Presence of Organic Molecules on the Comet it Landed On

Researchers hope the finding sheds light on how organic molecules might have first arrived on Earth

A new, zero-power screening method might make testing for lead and other pollutants easier than ever.

Drop This Capsule Into a Stream and It Will Screen For Pollution

Researchers have developed a sensor (no batteries required) that creates a barcode indicating the amount of pollutants and their whereabouts in water

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by Rosetta last month

Rosetta’s Comet Smells Really, Really Bad

If you could breathe in space, you wouldn't want to breathe this air

Prozac Doesn't Make Birds Happy

Birds on Prozac lose their appetite and libido

Zooplankton and Krill "Pee" Helps Determine Ocean Chemistry

Tiny marine life's expelled ammonia fuels important chemical reactions

The Science of Why Toothpaste Makes Food Taste Funny

Blame toothpaste's foaming action

A fragmented painting of a pig-deer or babirusa (Babyrousa sp.) and hand stencil from one of the caves in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Rock (Art) of Ages: Indonesian Cave Paintings Are 40,000 Years Old

Cave paintings of animals and hand stencils in Sulawesi, Indonesia, seem to be as old as similar cave art in Europe

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