Hydrogen-breathing aliens? Study suggests new approach to finding extraterrestrial life

New research expands the pool of habitable worlds to include super-Earths with hydrogen-rich atmospheres.

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University • conversation
May 4, 2020 • ~8 min

How an elusive catalyst makes unusual reactions happen

Researchers at Harvard and Cornell have discovered exactly how a reactive copper-nitrene catalyst could transform a strong carbon-hydrogen bonds into a carbon-nitrogen bond, a valuable building block for chemical synthesis.

Caitlin McDermott-Murphy • harvard
Sept. 19, 2019 • ~6 min

Nanowires replace Newton’s famous glass prism

Scientists have designed an ultra-miniaturised device that could image single cells without the need for a microscope or make chemical fingerprint analysis possible from within a smartphone camera. 

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Sept. 5, 2019 • ~4 min

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