First boron–tellurium double bond captured
A rarity among rarities, the first molecule with a boron–tellurium double bond – and one of the few boron–tellurium compounds in existence – has been made by chemists in Germany. Tellurium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust, as scarce as platinum. The heavy chalcogen is mostly used in iron alloys and […]
Who is the greatest chemist of all time?
How we compare science superstars leads to important questions for chemistry Everyone wants to know who’s the best. Human achievement is built on league tables and rankings, healthy competition or historic inspiration. We like to pretend that we don’t really care about anyone else, but our entire way of life is built on superlatives. We […]
Zooming in on enzyme that repairs DNA damage from UV rays
A research team at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to study an enzyme found in plants, bacteria and some animals that repairs DNA damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light rays. By studying this enzyme, called DNA photolyase, with the ultrabright and ultrafast […]
New X-ray spectroscopy explores hydrogen-generating catalyst
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a single-cell algae and Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, a bacterium. In both cases, their hydrogenase enzymes have an active site with two iron atoms. “Among hydrogenases, [FeFe] hydrogenase has the highest turnover rate (molecular hydrogen production rate) and therefore has a potential role in the future hydrogen economy, either by a direct use or by […]
What’s left isn’t always right in total synthesis
(+)-Frondosin B is part of a family of marine sesquiterpenes found in underwater sponges that exhibit anti-inflammatory properties and have potential applications in anticancer and HIV therapy. Starting with Samuel Danishefsky’s route in 2001,2 there have been 5 total syntheses of (+)-frondosin B. However, due to a discrepancy in the optical rotation of the final product during Dirk […]
Acene synthesis sets new record for twisted molecules
Twisting acenes by introducing sterically crowded groups has produced a family of molecules dubbed twistacenes. For a long time, these molecules remained practically unexplored, mostly because their synthesis is extremely challenging. Now, a team of chemists report the synthesis of decatwistacene, which is the longest of its kind.1 The molecule also exhibits a record torsion angle […]
