Chemical & Engineering News – Fluorine-containing waxes were banned from ski competitions in 2023
Author: xiaozhi
Bacterial enzymes help reveal natural product stereochemistry
Chemical & Engineering News – The peptidases can break bonds between specific D- and L-amino acids, filling a gap in the toolbox for natural products characterization
Hold The Fluorowax!
ChemMatters – The highest-performing ski and snowboard waxes are made with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called “forever chemicals.”
US landfills emit nearly a ton of airborne PFAS a year, study finds
The New Lede
To measure Antarctic pollutants, this researcher took a cruise
Chemical & Engineering News – Belén González-Gaya recounts hitching a ride on a commercial cruise to measure contaminants in a remote region
Microplastic diversity boosts greenhouse-gas-producing soil microbes
Chemical & Engineering News – Denitrifying microorganisms grow better in soils with more types of microplastics
Cool data: The hunt for new ways to deal with data centre heat
Chemistry & Industry – Data centres are energy guzzlers – and they’re growing hungrier due to the rise in internet traffic, demand for cloud-based computing and AI. Researchers are trying to find solutions, fast. XiaoZhi Lim reports
The science behind the longest lightning bolt ever recorded
Chemical & Engineering News – What atmospheric conditions lead to lightning megaflashes?
There’s a new acid in our rain — should we be worried?
Nature – Scientists and regulators are divided over the threat posed by rising levels of a chemical called TFA.
Fluorine harvested sustainably from “forever chemical” wastes
MRS Bulletin