Chemistry

Viburnum titus is a common landscaping plant in Europe and the United States, but its blue fruits hadn't been closely studied until now.

Structural Complexity Gives This Fruit Its Metallic Blue Color

The super blue viburnum fruit gets its hue not just from blue pigment, but from the structure of its fat

Hopefully the new repellents will smell better too!

The Secret Behind New Insect Repellent's Potent Punch Is Found in Grapefruit

The EPA just approved nootkatone, a chemical found in grapefruit and cedars that kills and repels ticks, mosquitoes and other insects

A clear shard of Roman glass found in northern Jordan. The purple highlights are iridescence caused by weathering.

Ancient Rome's Finest Glass Was Actually Made in Egypt

Researchers used chemical analysis to determine the origins of the empire's crystal-clear glass

Researchers used these five replica clay pipes to "smoke" tobacco and other native plants.

Early Residents of the Pacific Northwest Smoked Smooth Sumac

Researchers used a new technique to detect the chemical fingerprints of specific plant species in a 1,400-year-old pipe's residue

Nickelodon's slime in Space in the cupola of the International Space Station.

Astronauts Got Slimed in Space for Science

Nickelodeon teamed up with NASA to send packets of green slime into space to test its behavior in microgravity and to create a virtual field trip for kids

New research suggests that humidity is making the painting's yellow cadmium sulfide degrade into white.

Humidity Is a Nightmare for 'The Scream'

Moisture in the air—not light—has made the yellow pigments in Edvard Munch's masterpiece degrade

Folium was used to illustrate illuminated manuscripts—and color the rind of a popular Dutch cheese.

Researchers Follow a 15th-Century Recipe to Recreate Medieval Blue Ink

The purplish-blue pigment, derived from a Portuguese fruit, fell out of use by the 19th century

Fragments of a large early Neolithic vessel that was likely used to process meat stew

Traces of Millennia-Old Milk Help Date Pottery Fragments to Neolithic London

These dairy products are no longer edible, but they're still valuable to researchers

Now that's a big bubble.

Here’s How to Blow the Perfect Giant Soap Bubble, According to Physics

Sometimes, science really blows

Scientists filmed a pair of rhenium atoms (simulated here in green) as they bonded over a carbon nanotube (grey)

Watch First-Ever Footage of Atoms Forming and Breaking Bonds

The team used transmission electron microscopy to film the atoms dancing down a carbon nanotube

(Clockwise from left) Michela Puddu, Elias Sime, Richard Yim and Miranda Wang

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2020

From plastic recycling pioneers to landmine foes, these dreamers have big plans for the coming year

Bioluminescent "sea fireflies," a species of ostracod crustacean, covering the rocks on the coast of Okayama, Japan.

How Studying Bioluminescent Creatures Is Transforming Medical Science

The natural light of insects and sea creatures can help doctors illuminate H.I.V. and even kill cancer cells

John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino

Development of the Lithium-Ion Battery Earns Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The award honors three scientists whose contributions led to the rechargeable battery that makes our modern world possible

Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Scientists Who Revealed How Cells Respond to Different Oxygen Levels

Three medical scientists will share the award for further explaining how the body responds to oxygen abundance

California’s Saltiest Lake Is Home to This Arsenic-Resistant, Three-Sexed Worm

Prior to their discovery, only two species could survive in the super-salty, highly alkaline lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains

Graphene-Coated Fabric Causes Mosquitoes to Buzz Off

Researchers found the insects can't penetrate thin layers of the wonder material, which also blocks the scent of human sweat

Rust film could be used to cover buoys to generate power for scientific equipment at sea, or on bridges to create electricity for nearby structures.

Could a Rusty Bridge Generate Electricity?

New research shows that water flowing over thin layers of rust can generate power

Samples of trinitite from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

A Chunk of Trinitite Reminds Us of the Sheer, Devastating Power of the Atomic Bomb

Within the Smithsonian's collections exists a telltale trace of the weapon that would change the world forever

Stephanie Kwolek's initial ambition was not to be chemist at all.

You Can Thank Chemist Stephanie Kwolek for Bulletproof Vests and Yoga Pants

The long-serving researcher at DuPont invented kevlar and contributed to spandex

A natural color view of Titan and Saturn taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 6, 2012, at a distance of approximately 483,000 miles (778,000 kilometers) from Titan.

Dragonfly Spacecraft to Scour the Sands of Titan for the Chemistry of Life

The NASA rotorcraft, resembling a large quadcopter drone, will fly through the orange clouds of the ocean moon in the outer solar system

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