Chemistry articles within Nature

Featured

  • Letter |

    Infrared spectroscopy can probe the conditions and compositions of exoplanet atmospheres. Previous results relied on space-based telescopes that do not provide spectroscopic capability in the 2.4–5.2 μm spectral region. Here, ground-based observations of the dayside emission spectrum for HD 189733b are reported between 2.0–2.4 μm and 3.1–4.1 μm; an unexpected feature at around 3.25 μm is found that is difficult to explain with models that assume local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, and is assigned to methane.

    • Mark R. Swain
    • , Pieter Deroo
    •  & Thomas Henning

  • Letter |

    The primary sequence of a protein defines its free-energy landscape and thus determines the rate constants of folding and unfolding, with theory suggesting that roughness in the energy landscape leads to slower folding. However, obtaining experimental descriptions of this landscape is challenging. Landscape roughness is now shown to be responsible for the slower folding and unfolding times observed in the R16 and R17 domains of α-spectrin relative to the similar R15 domain.

    • Beth G. Wensley
    • , Sarah Batey
    •  & Jane Clarke

  • Books & Arts |

    The success of Peter Atkins's classic textbook Physical Chemistry led him to trade research for full-time writing and teaching in the 1980s. In the first of a series of five interviews with authors who each write science books for a different audience, Atkins explains how the rewards for textbooks can be great, but the effort needed can affect your research.

    • Nicola Jones

  • News & Views |

    The thermal process known as Joule heating, which often plagues electronic devices, has been turned to good use: making devices that can produce sound as well as reproduce music and speech.

    • Rama Venkatasubramanian

  • Letter |

    The transformation of petroleum-derived feedstocks into useful chemicals often requires controllable cleavage of C–H or C–C bonds. There are many examples of achieving this through the oxidative addition of C–H bonds to metal centres, but analogous transformations of C–C bonds are rare. Here, using a tungsten centre and exploiting the formation of an unusual chelating ligand, a strong C–C bond is cleaved; other metal centres with suitable ancillary ligands could perform the same function.

    • Aaron Sattler
    •  & Gerard Parkin

  • News & Views |

    As a rule of thumb, carbon–carbon bonds are not easily broken. But a tungsten complex has been found to break a particularly strong carbon–carbon bond, opening up fresh opportunities for organic synthesis.

    • Alan S. Goldman

  • News Feature |

    The surprising discovery of methane in Mars's atmosphere could be a sign of life there. Researchers are now working out how to find its source, reports Katharine Sanderson.

    • Katharine Sanderson

  • Letter |

    In the search to reduce our dependency on fossil-fuel energy, new plastic materials that are less dependent on petroleum are being developed, with water-based gels — hydrogels — representing one possible solution. Here, a mixture of water, 3% clay and a tiny amount of a special organic binder is shown to form a transparent hydrogel that can be moulded into shape-persistent, free-standing objects and that rapidly and completely self-heals when damaged.

    • Qigang Wang
    • , Justin L. Mynar
    •  & Takuzo Aida

  • News & Views |

    Springtime ozone levels in the lower atmosphere over western North America are rising. The source of this pollution may be Asia, a finding that reaffirms the need for international air-quality control.

    • Kathy Law

  • News & Views |

    The use of magnetic fields to assemble particles into membranes provides a powerful tool for exploring the physics of self-assembly and a practical method for synthesizing functional materials.

    • Jack F. Douglas

  • News Feature |

    Like any other field, research on climate change has some fundamental gaps, although not the ones typically claimed by sceptics. Quirin Schiermeier takes a hard look at some of the biggest problem areas.

    • Quirin Schiermeier

  • Letter |

    Phytochromes regulate numerous photoresponses in plants and microorganisms through their ability to photointerconvert between a red-light-absorbing, ground state (Pf) and a far-red-light-absorbing, photoactivated state (Pfr). The structures of several phytochromes as Pf have been determined previously; here, the three-dimensional solution structure of the bilin-binding domain as Pfr is described. The results shed light on the structural basis for photoconversion to the activated Pfr form.

    • Andrew T. Ulijasz
    • , Gabriel Cornilescu
    •  & Richard D. Vierstra

  • News |

    Collaboration launches effort to track marine nutrients.

    • Mark Schrope

  • News Feature |

    Renewable energy is not a viable option unless energy can be stored on a large scale. David Lindley looks at five ways to do that.

    • David Lindley

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Chemistry across other nature.com journals