Chemistry World Blog

21 February 2011: Have something to say about an article you’ve read on Chemistry World this week? Leave your comments below…This week’s stories:

Mystery of natural sunscreen solved
Compounds found in coral transform light energy from the sun into heat energy without damaging plants

Bendy batteries a step closer
A flexible power source to accompany flexible batteries

Diagnosing diseases with CDs
A microfluidic device has been built into a compact disc for use in a personal computer to analyse cells

Elusive form of iron captured
Structural and spectroscopic evidence of a highly reactive iron(V) nitride compound

Seaweed recruited in fight against malaria
Natural products from Fijian red seaweed have shown remarkable anti-malarial properties

Mapping brain networks
Model ring-shaped neuronal networks for unravelling memory, learning and cognition processes

Capsules for safer and more reliable lithium ion batteries
Self-healing coatings inspire improvements to the electrodes

Polymer coat helps nanoparticles penetrate mucus
Coating enables efficient drug delivery directly to tissues like the lungs

Repairing faulty genes
New compounds stop the premature interruption of protein production, a cause of diseases