Helical molecules, similarly to a corkscrew, have a spiral shape that can be either left- or right-turning. Such "chiral molecules" can collectively organize (assemble) into large left- or ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

A friendly molecule called ortho-benzyne is a key player. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Astronomers have found a friendly ...

Catalytic molecules can form metabolically active clusters by creating and following concentration gradients -- this is the result of a new study. Their model predicts the self-organization of ...

Researchers from the University of Adelaide have discovered how water molecules are organized during plant hydrolytic reactions, knowledge that could have sweeping consequences for the biomedical, ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Ten years ago, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe pulled up alongside a dusty, icy lump the size of a mountain. The probe would ...

The method can extract meaning even from material that has been altered by time, radiation or mixing processes.

The complex precursors to biological molecules can form spontaneously in interstellar space, according to a lab experiment that opens up new pathways for the origin of life in the universe. In the ...

A complex form of carbon crucial for life on Earth has been spotted outside the solar system for the first time. Its presence helps show how the compounds needed for life could come from space. The ...

An illustration of the density of a water molecule network (blue surface map and red spheres) near the catalytic site (green sticks), projected on the surface of a plant exo-hydrolase, coloured by ...